Posted on August 5, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“Yesterday I was shocked, dismayed and hurt, to hear that Kelvin Davis was secretly canvassing for funds from National to campaign against me” said MANA Leader and MP for Tai Tokerau, Hone Harawira.
“Today I am sad to hear that he refuses to acknowledge what he has done and refuses to apologise for his tactics”, said Harawira.
“We may be on different parties, but our people want this to be a campaign of ideas and values, our people do not want this to be the dirty and underhand campaign that Kelvin has made it into.”
“Since this story broke last night I have had heaps of calls from our people up north who are gutted by what Kelvin has done, and a lot of them are Labour voters.”
“Our people are really hurt by what Kelvin has done, and they are angry with him for not being man enough to apologise for it.”
“So I am asking the president of the Labour Party to issue an apology to my people in the Tai Tokerau for the dirty tricks campaign that Kelvin has been waging, and a formal declaration that it will not happen again.”

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on August 4, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“If there’s any truth to what I have seen today, then somebody’s head should roll” said MANA leader and Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira when told of emails suggesting Kelvin Davis’ campaign team in Tai Tokerau was planning to launch an attack campaign against him with money solicited from National.
“Changing the government is going to be tough enough – it’ll be bloody impossible if Labour does dirty deals with National” said Harawira.
“National has been directly responsible for driving up unemployment, homelessness, ill health, and poverty for Maori right across the north” said Harawira. “I’m trying to get rid of them and Kelvin Davis and his crew are doing deals with them!”
“I’m gutted, and Maori in Tai Tokerau will be seriously troubled that Davis and his mates are cozying up to the people who have caused so much damage to our communities”
“And don’t buy this rubbish about me having more money because of Kim Dotcom either” said Harawira. “You’re only allowed to spend $25,000 anyway and I’d already banked mine before MANA signed its deal with the Internet Party”
“Where does this go now?”
“As a matter of principle, Davis should either admit that he knew what was going on here and resign, or state categorically that he didn’t and sack his campaign team”
“Either way, he owes the people of the north an apology”

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 31, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“Tomorrow I will be participating in a challenge to break the silence about hearing loss”, said MANA Leader and Tai Tokerau MP, Hone Harawira.
“I’m doing it to feel what it is that those who are hearing-impaired face every day” said Harawira “and if by doing so I can help in a small way to promote the kaupapa and hopefully improve the quality of life for the one in six New Zealanders who have some type of hearing loss, then I’ll be happy.”
“So if you see me wandering around the Secondary School Kapa Haka Finals in Gisborne tomorrow wearing a bright yellow pair of ear muffs, it’s because I want to experience how devastating it will be to watch the kapahaka but not be able to hear a thing!”
“That’ll be tough enough, so please don’t give me a hard time, give me a wave or a high five ‘cause it’s a really cool kaupapa.”
The Silence Leaders Challenge looks to increase workplace and community understanding and empathy for those who are hard of hearing and will contribute to raise funds for the vital work of The National Foundation for the Deaf.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 30, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“They can’t all play the race card and expect to win off it”, said MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau Hone Harawira, following comments by ACT Leader Jamie Whyte, Conservative Leader Colin Craig, and NZ First Leader Winston Peters, that they wouldn’t work with “race- based” parties such as MANA and the Maori Party.
“It’s the oldest trick in the book – bash Maori at election time to boost your voter appeal”, says Harawira.
“But the fact is that MANA has more non-Maori candidates than Maori ones, and in Internet MANA the difference is even more pronounced, so the race-based argument has no relevance at all” said Harawira. “We are actually the living embodiment of what strong but supportive political parties should be all about.”
“Parties trying to minimise MANA’s effectiveness by playing the race card, are simply showing how desperate they are getting.”
“Or perhaps they’re trying to obscure another reality” said Harawira “which is that Internet MANA is playing to full houses at public meetings all over the country while ACT, NZ First and the Conservatives can’t even fill a hall for their annual conferences.”
“The momentum is clearly with Internet MANA … best I simply leave it at that.”

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

“I’m sorry I can’t be at parliament for the valedictory speeches of Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples” said Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Tai Tokerau, ”but I’d like to add my own best wishes as they reach the end of their parliamentary careers.”
Harawira said that he’d wanted to be there for the ‘end of an era’ in Maori politics, but he’d been called home to attend the funeral of Whakahoro ‘Sol’ Te Whata, the last serving member of the 28th Maori Battalion’s A Company.
“Coming into Parliament with Pete and Tari in 2005, off the back of the passion and the energy generated from the foreshore and seabed hikoi was an awesome experience, and they were the right pair to lead the Maori Party at that time.”
“Tariana had taken a very strong stand in opposing Labour’s theft of the foreshore and seabed, and I know intimately the stress, anxiety, and deep personal sacrifice she went through before resigning from the Labour Party on a matter of principle.”
“Pete came from a background of positive and innovative urban Maori development and a pioneering role in kapahaka and kura kaupapa, and brought a sense of enthusiasm and joy that is not common in the House.”
“With their different styles they led the Maori Party through some very exhilarating and challenging times, and although the party’s spark has clearly dimmed of late, their leadership has been consistently strong throughout.”
“I will always feel privileged and proud to have stood with them in the formation of the Maori Party.”
“I hope they enjoy their new found freedom. Their whanau will welcome it, and they certainly deserve it.”

Posted on July 24, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press ReleasesBurning the Israeli flag in Auckland in protest over the murder of innocent civilians in Gaza is nothing to be ashamed of” said MANA Leader and Tai Tokerau MP, Hone Harawira. “Calling for both sides to stand down when one side is annihilating the other though, IS something to be ashamed of.”
“On one side you have a state with nuclear weapons, tanks, artillery, fighter planes, helicopter gunships, warships, a fully operational army, and the best missile defence system in the world that has killed hundreds of innocent civilians, displaced more than 100,000 people, and destroyed the infrastructure of the people in Gaza, in the last couple of weeks.”
“On the other side you have kids with rocks, and irregulars with rockets who have killed 2 civilians.”
“Martin Luther King once said, He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”
“Israel has committed a monstrous evil by its massacre of innocent civilians. MANA refuses to passively accept that evil and chooses to protest against it, and if that protest involves burning a mere flag, then so be it.”
“Those condemning the burning of the flag might want to take a look in the mirror and ask themselves what it is that they are doing to protest against the massacre in Gaza.”

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 24, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press ReleasesJordan Williams, Executive Director of the Taxpayers’ Union says a MANA billboard “appears to have been funded by taxpayers”, and calls it “an outrageous use of taxpayer money”.
“But the only thing that is outrageous, is how outrageously stupid Jordan Williams was to make the accusation without checking the facts” said MANA leader and Tai Tokerau MP, Hone Harawira. “The billboards were all legitimately paid for from campaign funds”.
“Seems to me if the Taxpayers’ Union is shooting off its mouth without checking the facts, poor taxpayers who are being conned to pay for their expenses might want to think about putting their money somewhere else” said Harawira “like Internet MANA”.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 24, 2014 by admin in Annette Sykes, Press Releases, Te Hamua Nikora“MANA is launching its te reo Māori policy this morning ahead of the first reading of the government’s Māori Language Strategy Bill this afternoon”, saidMANA deputy leader and candidate for Waiariki, Annette Sykes.
“MANA’s policy is based on a love for the language and a commitment to ensuring its survival, in direct contrast to the Māori Party’s bill which will actually dismantle the Māori Language Act of 1987”
“MANA’s policy is based on a firm belief that the Act should be strengthened, not dismantled”.
“Our policy is designed to protect the language and to develop it, to ensure it flourishes and becomes a positive and uplifting force in our society”.
“STEP ONE in that process will be to keep and to strengthen the Māori Language Act”.
“STEP TWO will be to affirm the role of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, The Māori Language Commission, as the lead agency for te reo Māori with authority to oversee the Māori Language Strategy”, said Ms Sykes. “It’s what the original WAI 11 claimants wanted, it’s what the Tribunal recommended in its report on the WAI 262 claim, and it’s what whānau and language experts have been telling us for years”
Te Taura Whiri should be given formal authority to work with public bodies, to develop Māori language plans and outcomes.
Te Taura Whiri should also be empowered to work with whānau, hapū, marae, iwi, and Māori organisations in the revival and development of te reo Māori in their communities.
Te Taura Whiri should also be resourced and supported to carry out its role.
“There is a nationwide call for real leadership and action on te reo Māori, and that can only happen when Taura Whiri’s role is strengthened rather than undermined”, said Ms Sykes.
Te Hāmua Nikora, MANA candidate for Ikaroa Rāwhiti, said “STEP THREE will be to build on the report of the Waitangi Tribunal into Kohanga Reo, which found that successive governments had breached the Treaty of Waitangi by failing to fund and support Kohanga Reo’s Māori language strategy”.
“The Tribunal also called on government to appoint an independent adviser to oversee an urgent programme to: overhaul policy, increase participation, improve quality, increase funding and provide the support necessary for upgrade and maintenance of Kohanga facilities”.
“Kohanga Reo are the basis from which te reo Māori can flourish, and MANA supports the recommendations made by the Tribunal” said Mr Nikora.
“STEP FOUR must be to build on the positive results achieved over the past 30 years in Kura Kaupapa, in Māori homes and communities, and in the wider society” said Mr Nikora.
Increasing the number of Kura Kaupapa to cater for whānau who choose reo Maori as the language of choice for their children’s education;
Making reo Māori classes a core requirement for whānau in Māori medium education;
Making Māori language part of the core curriculum in all mainstream schools, along with English, Maths and Science, to help build a strong base for the reo;
Investing in more language revival initiatives in homes and communities;
Making Māori competency standards a core requirement of all broadcasting licences – when broadcasters pronounce Māori correctly, the flow on to the rest of the community is positive;
Developing the teacher training programmes and learning resources to ensure full delivery of these initiatives
“MANA’s position is that te reo Māori is a taonga, and that we must do all we can to protect it, to promote it, to grow it, and to help it flourish across all sectors in Aotearoa”, said Mr Nikora.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 28, 2014 by admin in Annette Sykes, Press ReleasesAt midday tomorrow, Annette Sykes will officially launch her campaign to win the Waiariki electorate seat for MANA in the upcoming general election.
“A key goal for MANA this election is to mobilise our people to vote, especially rangatahi, and win Waiariki. To help with this we’ve got Maisey Rika, Cliff Curtis, and our MANA Youth Ambassador, Wairangi Koopu, all lending their support for the launch and the wider campaign” said Ms Sykes.
“MANA is committed to changing the government and here in Waiariki we’re fully geared up for the task. We’ve already got our billboards up and from next week we’ll be knocking on every voter’s door in the electorate asking them for their support” said Ms Sykes.
“Creating new jobs, and ensuring existing jobs – including those in forestry – are safe and paid at least a living wage are a top priority for MANA, and I’ll be talking more about this at the launch” concluded Ms Sykes.
When: 12 noon, Tuesday 29 July (POHIRI)Where: Apumoana Marae, Tarawera Road, Rotorua
When: 6:00-8:00pm, Tuesday 29 July (PUBLIC MEETING)Where: Distinction Hotel, RotoruaHouse DJ: Hone Djporoufessor NgataGuest performance by Maisey Rika and appearances by Cliff Curtis and MANA Youth Ambassador, Wairangi Koopu.
All media welcome.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 27, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“It’s great to have Georgie on board” said Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and Te Tai Tokerau MP. ”She’s strong-minded, stands up to be counted, and has fought for the rights of those who haven’t had any – and won. That makes her an ideal fit for MANA..”

Ms Beyer, who has links to the Te Tai Tonga electorate through her Te Ati Awa and Ngati Mutunga whakapapa, was the world’s first openly transsexual mayor and MP and helped lead law changes to decriminalise prostitution and introduce civil unions.

“Our goal this election is to raise the profile of MANA, grow our numbers in Parliament, and help change the government. Georgina’s a respected household name in politics so she’s an important part of helping achieve that goal. We feel honoured to have her.”

“I’m really excited and things are already full steam ahead for the campaign” said Ms Beyer. ”My health is steady, so it’s great to have a new challenge.”

“When approached about the role, there were a few things to consider as there always are. Taking on this role is my way of making amends to Maori for voting for the foreshore and seabed bill which I was forced into and which totally broke me. I’m very proud to stand with MANA.”

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 25, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases
“I just got a call from National Business Review reporter, asking whether there was any contradiction between my thoughts on immigration in 2009 and now, particularly given MANA’s newly minted relationship with Kim Dotcom” said MANA leader and Tai Tokerau MP, Hone Harawira.”
“In 2009, I am quoted as saying …We should give due recognition to the importance of kaupapa Maori to immigration. For example, there is a policy whereby an immigrant can come in, put down two million dollars and he’s in, basically. You know? No tests, no arrangements, just drop the bucks. We have to get away from that so that our future is based on kaupapa – it’s like principles…”
“Well, in 2014, my views haven’t changed on millionaire immigrants at all” said Harawira.”
“Unfortunately though, government’s rules haven’t changed much either. They still let anyone with a lot of money into the country without any regard to kaupapa Maori.”
“But thanks to MANA, Kim Dotcom has gone through a completely different process.”
“He’s endured a lengthy and harrowing initiation with myself and other very kaupapa-minded Maori activists. He’s been grilled by people noted for their undying commitment to social justice, and he’s attended and addressed the AGM of the MANA Movement, the country’s most progressive political force.”
“He also began a national tour at Te Rerenga Wairua (where the Maori Land March and the Foreshore and Seabed March began). He’s spoken to local hapu and iwi at Potahi marae in Te Kao, Kohewhata marae in Kaikohe, Te Whare Runanga in Waitangi, and Terenga Paraoa marae in Whangarei. He’s spoken to predominantly Maori audiences in Kaitaia, Kaikohe, Kerikeri, Whangarei, North Shore and Kelston.”
“And he’s on the same demanding schedule over the next five weeks right across the country.”
“It seems to me that the process that Kim Dotcom is still going through four months after first engaging with MANA, is the process that every millionaire immigrant should go through when they come here.”
“Perhaps the NBR might want to recommend the MANA Immigration Policy for Millionaires for other parties to adopt.”

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 23, 2014 by admin in Joe Carolan, Press Releases“Labour should set the agenda and purposely do something positively controversial once a week”, said MANA candidate for Mt Albert, Joe Carolan.
“A good start would be for all Labour Auckland MPs and members to join the Justice for Palestine march this Sat the 26th of July ”, said Joe Carolan.
“If the media is going to pick on them regardless, let it be for the right reasons”.
“I challenge David Shearer to meet me with his colleagues at Aotea Square this Saturday at 2pm. MANA will be there in force”.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 20, 2014 by admin in James Papali’i’Vice Chairperson of MANA Pasifika James Papali’i feels for Ms Tupou and her children after they were served with trespass orders from their local swimming pool in new market. With no warning or explanation from the pool staff Police ordered this aiga (family) to leave the pool because things had gone missing from the lockers when they were present.
“This is a case where the aiga were presumed to be guilty, firstly by the pool staff, and secondly by the police. The humiliation and stigma inflicted on to this Pasifika mum and her children is just not on”, said James Papali’i”.
“MANA Pasifika is right behind Ms Tupou and supports her complaint to the Human rights conciliator Dame Susan Devoy”, said Papali’i.
“Although apologies have been made by the pools management and the trespass orders lifted, the damage has already been done”.
“This type of discrimination, harassment, and judgmental behaviour by people in positions of authority should not be left unchallenged and MANA Pasifka hopes that Ms. Devoy investigates the incident further and hold those responsible accountable”.
ENDS
For further information please contact James Papali’I, (021) 033 0884

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 20, 2014 by admin in John Minto, Press ReleasesAddress notes from Mana Economic Justice Spokesperson and co-vice President John Minto to Economic policy launch in Kelston – 2pm, Sunday 20 July 2014.
Reducing inequality and giving everyone a fair go
MANA Movement’s policy prescription for a rich man’s country which is a poor family’s nightmare
Kia ora koutou, nga mihi nui ki a koutou
E nga tangata whenua o tenei rohe – Ngati Whatua – kia ora koutou,
E nga iwi o te motu – nga hau e wha – tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa
It’s not hard to see New Zealand has entrenched inequality when
A worker on the minimum wage pays higher tax rates than billionaire property investors.
The big banks fleece customers and get to decide for themselves how much tax they will pay.
The richest 1% have three and a half times more wealth than the poorest 50% of New Zealanders.
Half our high-net wealth individuals don’t declare enough income to even pay the top tax rate which comes in at $70,000.
Beneficiaries are pilloried in nasty campaigns for bludging off taxpayers while tax evasion is a way of life for the rich in places like Parnell and Remuera.
When close to 300,000 children live in poverty and 80,000 children go to school hungry every day.
When three families share a one-family house or live in cars or cockroach infested caravans.
When the state has weakened bargaining power of unions so much and wages have fallen so low that the government now subsidises low wages with billions of taxpayer dollars through Working for Families.
When workers’ share of GDP dropped 20% in the 10 years from 1984 and has stayed the same low level since.
So welcome to the New Zealand created by Labour and National governments over the past 30 years in particular.
Welcome to a rich man’s country and a poor family’s nightmare.
It’s become so outrageous that for the last six years the National government has been borrowing money hand over fist to finance tax cuts for the super wealthy. We now have about $10 billion in extra government debt due to those tax cuts alone – all because John Key wanted to give his rich mates a tax-free pass.
It’s time to change the government.
But change is not enough. Tinkering with the figures won’t put food on the table or fill the lunchboxes. MANA is committed to big, bold economic policies to change the face of New Zealand – to put people at the heart of policy – to create an economy that works for people rather than the other way round.
The government says inequality isn’t getting any bigger so we shouldn’t worry about it. John Key says we should accept forever that wage and salary earners will pay tax on every dollar we earn and every dollar we spend while the very rich pay will pay diddly squat.
MANA rejects that. John Key calls this the politics of envy – MANA calls it the politics of greed.
Workers’ contributions to our society are unrecognized and undervalued. It’s unfair to value work according to what is the least someone will pay you to do a job. Instead we need to look at the social value of the work people do. For example the New Economics Foundation has calculated that a hospital cleaner does work with a social value 13 times higher than what they are paid to do the job. It’s the reverse for a bank CEO who is paid around 13 times more than the value of the work they do.
The pattern which has led to this extreme inequality is clear – weaken unions, drive down pay, increase profits. Then the cycle begins again – casualise work, drive down wages, increase profits. And round and round it goes. It’s a slow squeeze which is driving workers, their families and everyone on low incomes into poverty.
We’ve become good at describing the problems but what’s been lacking are practical plans to deal with it. MANA has those specific policy plans – so let’s get stuck in:
The three big things we must do are:
1. Shift the tax burden from workers, beneficiaries and their families and onto those getting a free ride.
2. Raise the incomes of low-income families.
3. Remove wages from the competition between companies and so remove the ever downward pressure on wages and salaries
1. We must shift the tax burden from workers, beneficiaries and their families and onto those getting a free ride.
Abolish GST which hits low-income earners hardest.
Significantly increase the tax take by introducing a tax on financial speculation, called the ‘Hone Heke tax’ (chopping down taxes such as GST), which will be designed using examples of similar taxes introduced overseas. It will be used to replace the $15 billion collected by GST each year, and invest in key policies such as job creation and whānau wellbeing.
Reduce the tax paid by low income earners by not taxing the first $27,000 earned and reintroduce a progressive tax scale where high income earners pay a higher proportion of income tax.
Introduce a significant capital gains tax on all but the family home and Māori land.
Collate all sources of income, including from shares, bonds, property, and investments, to be taxed at an individual’s personal tax rate.
Reintroduce inheritance tax to be paid on a progressive scale for inheritances valued at over $500,000. This would exclude land held communally on behalf of iwi. Building family dynasties is not part of MANA policy.
Regulate family trusts and other tax avoidance devices to ensure no tax advantage applies to these or similar structures.
Expand funding to the IRD to investigate and eliminate corporate tax loopholes.
2. Raise the incomes of low-income earners
a. Increase the minimum wage to $18.80 per hour (a living wage) and index it at 66% of the average wage to ensure it remains a living wage.
b. Repeal youth rates for workers aged 16-17 years.
c. Increase benefit levels to provide a liveable income.
d. Eliminate economic discrimination against the children of beneficiaries, as happens in the current ‘Working for Families’ policy.
e. Work towards implementing a Universal Basic Income where everyone in Aotearoa aged 18 and over would receive a minimum, liveable, tax free income after which progressive tax would kick in. This would eliminate the huge costs involved in administering the current shame and blame WINZ system, and do much to end poverty and address growing inequality.
3. Remove wages from the competition between companies to remove the ever downward pressure on wages and salaries (except for the executive class whose pay has skyrocketed)
a. Support changes to employment relations laws that give workers greater bargaining power to negotiate wages and conditions with theiremployers, including the right to strike.
b. Guarantee workers’ security of hours by requiring employers to offer extra hours to existing staff, up to 40 hours per week, before hiring new staff.
Two other parts of the policy I’d like to mention – there should be no surprise about these.
Reduce the cost of living
c. Buy or take back key state assets, like power companies and telecommunications, at the price paid for them (or their market value – whichever is the lower), exclusive of the millions in fees and incentives used to sell them.
d. Abandon the market-based provision of essential services such as electricity and water in favour of non-profit and sustainable provision of those services.
Reduce loan debt
e. Regulate loan sharks and restrict banks’ profit margins on loans, credit cards, and mortgages.
In introducing these big bold policies it’s important to address the big lie the rich keep telling us – that being poor is your own fault.
Not enough income to feed the kids? National tells us parents are to blame for spending money on pokies, booze and the TAB. But hang on – which community in NZ asked for pokies? Which one asked for booze shops on every corner? Which one asked for loan sharks to charge 500% for a piddling loan?
And which government refuses to give local communities the power to close down the pokies, shut the booze shops and deal to loan sharks and fast-food joints?
MANA will crackdown on pokies – we will give local communities the power to drive them out. The same with booze shops, loan sharks and fast-food joints. More details on these policies later in the campaign…

In the meantime when you see the billboards that say Vote Hone Harawira, Annette Sykes and Te Hamua Nikora then get behind the campaign. And to get more MANA MPs into parliament give your party vote to Internet MANA.

Posted on July 20, 2014 by admin in Lisa McNab, NewsLisa McNab, MANA President, and Annette Sykes, outgoing MANA President and candidate for Waiariki
Lisa McNab was officially passed the mantle of MANA President in a special ceremony at Potahi Marae in Te Kao this week, following her unanimous election into the role at the recent MANA AGM.
“This is an incredibly exciting time for MANA and to have such a role. There’s such an energy and buzz amongst our people for change. That’s a key focus of MANA right now – to assist our people to get involved to help change the government and herald in a new set of policies to support whanau and communities” said Ms McNab.
Ms NcNab is from Te Paatu, Ngati Kahu, Te Rarawa, and Te Aupouri and has been a long time advocate in Maori health for whanau and hapu and in whanau and community development at the grass-roots.
“There’s no one better for the job” said outgoing President, Annette Sykes. ”Lisa has been a great Co-Vice President for the MANA Movement, and will now bring her considerable skills and experience to the role of President.”
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed heading such a dynamic movement for social and political justice and change, but my focus now is on winning the Waiariki seat and joining Hone in Parliament.”
ENDS
For further information please contact Lisa McNab, (021) 243-2467.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 18, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“The flooding in Tai Tokerau has hammered the north and impacted hundreds of families right across the region,” said MANA Leader and Tai Tokerau MP, Hone Harawira.
“It’s bitterly disappointing to see that the first response from this National government is to bailout a few farmers,” said Harawira.
“Poor Māori communities devastated by the floods have been completely ignored in the first round of assistance while National bails out its own voters and that’s a bloody disgrace, particularly when you know that some of those same farmers have deliberately broken the law and flooded other lands”.
“Flood relief should focus firstly on people, not profits and most of the people affected by the floods live in heavily populated communities like Moerewa”.
“Farmers deserve support too, no question, but government’s first relief should be for communities, not cows”.
ENDS
For further information please contact Skye Kimura-Paul, (027) 881 9999.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 14, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press ReleasesMANA is pleased to announce its general seat candidates in Tamaki for the 2014 election.
We have 10 seasoned community campaigners keen to bring MANA’s full set of big, bold policies to the election campaign,” says MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Hone Harawira.

“This is a great crew and I’m proud to stand with them for MANA. They know they won’t win these seats, but they’re committed to fight for the Internet MANA party vote to get more MANA people into parliament”, said Harawira.
“All our team have grass roots experience helping communities in low incomes areas fight for a better deal”.
“Roger Fowler for example led last year’s hugely successful ROCC (Respect our Community Campaign) which stopped the government’s big tarseal highway through Mangere, dead in its tracks”.
“John Minto is often described as a veteran campaigner but he’s got more energy than some other parties have in their entire caucus”.
“We have three Pasifika candidates – James Papali’i, Dr Siteleki Finau and Makelesi Ngata who will highlight MANA’s strong Pasifika-focused policies. MANA won’t be taking Pasifika votes for granted as has happened for too long”.
“Three of our MANA team are women activists in the Glen Innes housing struggle – Lisa Gibson, Yvonne Dainty and Makelesi Ngata. These candidates will bring to the campaign their first hand knowledge of the battles state house tenants face across the country”.
Joe Carolan from Unite Union and Socialist Aotearoa is a well known activist as is Pat O’Dea who stood for MANA in Epsom in the last election. Pat O’Dea explained then that he wouldn’t know how to represent rich people but stood to highlight the destructive impact of ACT policies which continue to crush low-income families.
Mana Tamaki rohe chairperson Joe Trinder rounds out the team bringing youthful vigour and enthusiasm.
MANA will rock this election…
Our Tamaki general seat team – in alphabetical order:
Joe Carolan – Mt Albert
Yvonne Dainty – Manurewa
Dr Sitaleki Finau – Maungakiekie
Roger Fowler – Papakura
Lisa Gibson – Tamaki
John Minto – Mt Roskill
Makelesi Ngata – Upper Harbour
Pat O’Dea – Epsom
James Papali’i – Mangere
Joe Trinder – Manukau East

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 13, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press ReleasesEx New Zealand Warrior hard man and Maori television media personality Wairangi Koopu has joined the MANA strategy team as the new MANA Youth Ambassador in another game changer move for the MANA party.
“When we say we want more change for rangatahi, by rangatahi, we mean it”, says Hone Harawira, MANA Party Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau.
“The great thing about Wairangi is he is known by almost everyone in Aotearoa because not only is he a former Warriors League player but as a presenter on one of the coolest shows on Maori TV, CODE, so his public appeal is really up there”, said Harawira.
“He brings a fresh look for MANA which is supported by the pride he has in his culture and the accomplishments he’s had as a 10 year professional athlete. A fluent Maori speaker with Iwi affiliations to Te Whanau Apanui and Whakatohea, gives MANA the opportunity to reach out to more of our Rangatahi and their whanau across Aotearoa”.
Wairangi will kick start off his official MANA youth ambassador role with Hone Harawira on the Road Trip starting on Tuesday in Kaitaia.
ENDS
For further information please contact Te Ringahuia Hata (021) 236 0931

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 10, 2014 by admin in John Minto, Press Releases“Labour’s education policy announcements last weekend have several welcome features which would be supported by Mana but we are concerned at the “user pays” proposal for children to get the educational benefits of access to the internet,” says Mana Education spokesperson John Minto.
“User-pays” has haunted low and middle-income families for decades under successive Labour and National governments. It has no place in our classrooms so Labour’s proposal to use the Manaia Kalani Trust model whereby families make weekly payments for a netbook computer for their children to use is a move in the wrong direction.”
“This model is already in place in some schools around the Tamaki area of Auckland and I spoke to a parent in Glen Innes a few days ago who simply can’t afford the weekly payments to the trust for her boy’s computer which will be worth virtually nothing once it’s paid off.”
“A much better option is for children and their families to have access to school digital technology after normal school hours where children and their families can utilise the internet in a properly supervised and supported homework setting.”
“It would require government funding to staff such centres but the benefits would far outweigh the cost. It would be a natural extension of Mana’s vision of local schools as community hubs where families and communities work together to support each other and give all our kids the best start in life.”
“We look forward to the opportunity to work with Labour on developing these ideas.”
ENDS
For further information please contact John Minto, (022) 085 0161

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Headline: HAVE A KITKAT DAVID, THERE’S A LONG WAY TO GO YET – Harawira

Posted on July 6, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“Internet MANA is not ruling out the possibility of a entering into coalition with Labour after the election”, said Internet MANA leader Hone Harawira with tongue firmly in cheek, after Labour leader David Cuniliffe said it was ‘highly unlikely’ that either he or Laila Harre would be offered ministerial portfolios if a Labour-led government was elected in September.
“Internet MANA is too busy building on recent positive poll results to worry about what might happen after the election” said Harawira.
“Perhaps Labour should focus on doing the same”
ENDS
For further information please contact Skye Kimura-Paul (027) 881 9999

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Headline: Small class sizes and school meals get another big tick in schools report

Posted on July 3, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“Congratulations to the Child Poverty Action Group for making it crystal clear what’s needed to ensure kids from the least well-off communities can get the best out of school” said Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau.
The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) released their Compulsory Schooling and Child Poverty report today which includes 10 recommendations for school policy development.
“And I’m happy to say that the recommendations read like MANA’s education policy – reduce class sizes, create schools as community hubs for whanau wellbeing, and ‘Feed the Kids’ by providing breakfast and lunch in low-decile schools.
“It’s no accident that the country’s top rating private schools, which now get a fair whack of taxpayer funding thanks to John Key and the Nats, have small classes and free school meals.
“But the same policies aren’t available to kids in hard-up areas. How upside down is that – the kids with the most get the most, and the kids with the least get stuff all.
“MANA is campaigning hard for a change of government to make sure all our kids get the kind of schooling they need to have a great future.
ENDS
For further information please contact Skye Kimura-Paul, (027) 881-9999.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 1, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“I get threatened with violence and I get death threats, but when somebody starts taking shots at my office then that’s another matter altogether”, said MANA leader and Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira after shots were fired at one of his offices last week.
Harawira was speaking after a report was filed with the police about shots being fired through the front window of his office in Kaitaia last Thursday night.
“I’m glad my staff reported it straight away because people call in to my office at all times of the day and night to get help with a range of issues, and their safety, and the safety of my staff, is a huge concern to me”, said Harawira.
“Politics can be a tough game and you can get hardened against some of the nasty and mean-spirited attacks against you, but shooting into an office without knowing who might be inside is more than scary, it’s life-threatening and I hope the police catch the perpetrators soon”
“I’ve got a job to do and I’ve got some bloody good staff helping me to do it, and we won’t be put off by threats like this”
ENDS
For further information please contact Skye Kimura-Paul, (027) 881 9999

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on July 1, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“Big ups to Greenpeace for their Climate Voter initiative http://www.climatevoter.org.nz/”, said Hone Harawira, MANA leader and MP for Tai Tokerau.
“Letting people see which parties stand up for Papatuanuku and which parties stand for overdevelopment and pollution should help focus their votes come election time”, said Harawira
“The respect we hold for Papatuanuku is fundamental to the future of all mankind, and MANA is keen to work with anyone willing to protect our world from the devastation of climate change”.
“I’m cool with where MANA stands on environmental issues, and I’m urging all of our members to sign up to the Climate Voter initiative and to promote it as widely as possible. And I can confirm that MANA will be endorsing the Climate Voter initiative through our own website http://mana.net.nz/“.
Ends
For further information please contact Skye Kimura-Paul. (027) 881 9999

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on June 30, 2014 by admin in James Papali’i’, Press ReleasesThe Labour Party has recently announced that it has plans to speed up family reunification for Pasifika people.
“I have seen these plans and I believe that these are too timid” says MANA Pasifika vice President, James Papali’i.
“After waiting on the sidelines for so long Pacifika people want to see bold immigration policies”, says Papali’i
“Why does New Zealand persist with a racist immigration policy where we see people from Tonga and Samoa face tough and tight quotas while Australians can hop on a plane, arrive in New Zealand, get employment and stay as long as they like?”
“Pacific people have contributed far more to the growth and prosperity of this country than Australians. Australians didn’t build the industrial base of Auckland it was built by New Zealander’s, with a major contribution from the Pacific Labour community over the last 50 years.”
“My Dad and his two brothers came here in the mid fifties and worked in factories all their lives. They built churches, raised families and Labour has taken their votes for granted for too long”
“Speeding up family reunification is all very well but it’s too little, too late.”
Pacific people now have a real choice this election. MANA has three great Pasifika candidates who will be calling on Pacific people to give their party vote to Internet MANA this election.
ENDS
For further information, please contact James Papali’i, (021) 033 0884

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on June 25, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“When John Key says ‘New Zealand fully supports the current steps announced by President Obama (in Iraq) 100%’ he is one step away from committing our troops simply to get a good trade deal with the USA,” said MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Hone Harawira “and that should worry all NZers.”
“It’s the same deal that Prime Minister Holyoake was forced to agree to by President Johnson back in the 60’s” said Harawira “when the USA told us that if we didn’t send troops to Vietnam, they wouldn’t buy our butter.”
“And all we got out of that was dead soldiers flown home in body bags, troops being abused for fighting a dirty war, and the lingering death we now know as Agent Orange.”
“The ugly thing about the current crisis is that America isn’t actually sending troops to Iraq to defend democracy. They have openly stated that they will deploy troops to defend their embassy, their assets, and the deals they struck for oil.”
“So we’d be sending NZ soldiers to defend American interests, not Iraqi people.”
“We’d be better off standing with the independent nations of the world in condemning human rights abuses in Iraq and supporting efforts to reduce violence in that area of the world” said Harawira “and spending our money on feeding thousands of hungry kids here rather than on an American crusade which has already killed thousands of Iraqi kids over there.”
“The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement that Obama wants us to sign up to would make the Treaty of Waitangi worthless, severely limit the autonomy of the New Zealand parliament, and give foreign corporations legal rights over and above the sovereignty of the NZ government.”
“It certainly ain’t a deal worth dying for …”

Headline: Father and son join the picket line in Mangere against booze outlet

Posted on June 20, 2014 by admin in John Minto, Press ReleasesMana Movement leader Hone Harawira and Mana supporters will be standing alongside the Mangere community this Saturday as it protests the decision of the Auckland District Licensing Committee to grant yet another licence to sell cheap booze in the area.
Mana Movement candidate for Mangere James Papali’i feels the issue strongly because the proposed liquor outlet is opposite the school his son attends.
“My son is in the seventh form at Nga Tapuwae and he and fellow students will also be on the picket line come Saturday” says James. “Would the people who granted the licence do the same if it was opening next to their children’s school?”
The protest is timed for 10am Saturday in Wickman Way, Mangere.
“Low-income communities are awash with cheap booze while the industry cynically advertises alcohol to vulnerable teenagers,” says Mana co-vice President John Minto. “Mana would seriously restrict their advertising and give communities the power to close down alcohol outlets which have proliferated in the past 20 years.”
“Low income areas are particularly targeted by the parasites on poverty – alcohol outlets, pokie machines, loan sharks, fast-food joints and until recently legal highs.”
“Mana has successfully campaigned to close the “fast-food pokies” in the Otara shopping centre two years back and we gave strong support to Mangere’s successful campaign to stop the big new motorway carving through the heart of the community.”
“Mana will continue to work with local communities in cases like this where what is needed is a decent dose of democracy to overturn a stupid, thoughtless decision.”
James Papali’i 0210330884John Minto 0220850161

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on June 20, 2014 by admin in Annette Sykes, Press ReleasesMana candidate for Waiariki Annette Sykes kicks off her Waiariki Bus Tour of her electorate this Saturday 21 June in Tauranga with her campaign team and volunteers.
“I’m looking forward to getting out and about in my electorate this coming week visiting significant waahi tapu and of our whānau and hapu that are being hurt by multi-national companies through local council development plans without proper consultation” Sykes says.
“I have always fought for the people to keep their land, language and own leadership models and I am going to take the war on the poor from the court rooms of this country to the lands and streets and get rid of the national government in Waiariki” Sykes vows.
The Mana bus will visit communities and marae in Tauranga, Whakatane, Taupo, Turangi, Kawerau, Rotorua and Turangi over five days in a coordinated effort to assist the whanau and hapu in the most affected areas hurt by privatisation agendas and organise with them a series of visits by the Internet party leadership in the coming weeks.
ENDS
For further inquiries contact Te Ringahuia Hata 021 236 0931

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on June 20, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“When I invited applications for a Press Officer on Facebook, it drew such a lot of attention it even made the Dominion Post!” said MANA leader and Tai Tokerau MP, Hone Harawira. “But when I said ‘no prima donna’s please; my ego’s big enough for the both of us’ it clearly didn’t put anyone off ‘cause I got more than 100 comments and 20 plus applications.”
“Some of the applicants were very good but in the end I chose somebody I’d worked with during the Tobacco Inquiry, Skye Kimura-Paul.”
Ms Kimura-Paul has spent the last 12 years advocating for tobacco control in Aotearoa and was instrumental in the legislative and policy changes to make Aotearoa Smokefree by 2025.
“Skye brings a lot of energy to the role, heaps of experience in working in public health, a strong work ethic, te reo Maori, and a passion for everything she does.”
“I think she’s going to be great” said Harawira, “and I think MANA is going to be all the better for her involvement.”
ENDS
For further information please contact Skye Kimura-Paul, (027) 881-9999.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on June 20, 2014 by admin in Annette Sykes, Press ReleasesToday’s poll is a great start for Internet MANA” says Annette Sykes, MANA President, “and we’re looking forward to that support building over the coming months.”
The poll showed 2.1% support for Internet MANA which would give the newly formed alliance three seats in Parliament.
“MANA members have spent the last week delivering 70,000 copies of MANA News to Maori voters in key areas and the feedback has been really positive, with lots of interest and enthusiasm for Internet MANA.”
“Turning that interest into votes is the key goal of our party vote campaign. It’s built around new, innovative ways to engage rangatahi and those who don’t usually vote – so needless to say it’s going to be a dynamic next few months.”
ENDS
For further information please contact Annette Sykes, (021) 243-2172

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on June 17, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press ReleasesAnything that puts our kids at the forefront will always get the big tick from me” said Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau when speaking about the Tick For Kids campaign to put children at the heart of political decision making in the next government. “It’s an awesome initiative and one that MANA wholeheartedly supports”
“Something drastic needs to change for kids in Aotearoa if we are to eliminate child poverty, homelessness, the growing education gap, and the number of kids still going to school hungry every day”
“MANA has prioritised children across all of our key policies including feed the kids, decent housing for all families, and the right to free, high quality education” said Harawira
“I commend all those organisations in launching this initiative, and I encourage all other parties, and particularly the government, to pick up the challenge and put kids at the centre of their policies as well”
ENDS
For further information please contact Skye Kimura-Paul, (027) 881-9999.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Headline: Debate on Crown entities, public organisations, and State Enterprises

Posted on June 17, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press ReleasesThe Education and Science Committee’s report on the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) made an important point about how TEC is having to cope with ongoing cuts to tertiary sector funding, rather than manage a stronger budget for the sector.
And the sector is crying out for support at a time when we have record numbers of young people leaving for Australia, record numbers of unemployed young people, and a refusal by government to properly fund tertiary education for those still living here in Aotearoa.
And that’s why it’s important that in considering this report on the TEC, we also consider the research that tells us how the lack of access to tertiary education, defines the future for many of our young people.
Research that tells us that high fees stop many from thinking they can aspire to a tertiary education; from even bothering to enrol; from signing on for longer more costly degree length courses; even though they know that that is the pathway to better employment opportunities.
Research that tells us that many, crippled by student debt, leave as soon as they graduate to escape a life of indebtedness, or drop out early because of the heavy financial commitments of tertiary study.
And sadly, research that tells us what most of us already know but many refuse to acknowledge, that these problems are ever more complex and far more damaging, for Maori, for Pasifika, and for those who grow up in communities where poverty is the norm.
And that’s why MANA says, that if we want NZ to become a genuine player in world affairs, then instead of trying to bribe our away onto the UN Security Council, and instead of throwing even more money at Team New Zealand after already blowing $90 million on two failed campaigns to date, and instead of constantly cutting funds to what was once a leading international tertiary sector, perhaps we should be overhauling our whole education system and rebuilding it based on a full commitment toFREE EDUCATION that shows our young people that we want them to grow here, we want them to learn here, we want them to live here, we want them to work here, we want them to invest here, and that we are happy to invest in them, because we know that an investment in them is an investment in us all.
Because we know that education is a public right, something that should be paid for from the public purse; that Aotearoa is a better nation with an educated population; that student debt is a huge deterrent to people taking up tertiary study, and a massive burden in a low wage economy like ours; that we need to be tapping into the nation’s intelligence, to become innovators rather than mere consumers for the world’s multinationals; and that without a culture of free education, we shall become the zombies of the world, the dull and dim-witted slaves to a rich and powerful and ever-more greedy elite.
And that’s why we need to increase access to our tertiary institutions, to convince parents that their children can get in to those places, and to get our young people to believe that tertiary education really is available to everyone, regardless of the colour of their wallets!
And that’s why one of MANA’s very first policies, isFREE EDUCATION, a position also promoted by our partners in the Internet Party, and a position based on our absolute belief that our young people are worth every cent of our investment.
And that’s why we say -drop the decision to shut down student associations and let them continue to be voices for change, campaigners for student rights, and advocates for free thinking;dump the plan to remove student, staff and community members from tertiary governance bodies and let them continue to be the voices of their communities;write off student debt as the first step in our investment in our own future;provide a proper living student allowance for all tertiary students;scrap tertiary fees; and challenge ourselves to create a world that we want for all of our young people, not just those who can afford it
And yes we know that this approach will cost us, but in the final analysis MANA still says yes,absolutely yes, because we believe, absolutely believe, that our young people will be worth every single cent.
ENDS
For further information please contact Skye Kimura-Paul, (027) 881-9999.

Posted on June 17, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“A foreign multi-national has been given the green light to explore and drill for oil and gas off the West Coast of Northland, without adequate safety regulations, without any requirement for consultation and without any jobs for the local population”, says Hone Harawira, MANA leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau.
Norwegian company Statoil was granted a 15-year exploration permit last year, covering 10,000 square kilometres of seabed in the Te Reinga Basin, and has already begun work using a New Zealand research vessel that was given a taxpayer funded $24 million upgrade.
“So not only have we given them the licence, we’ve also paid for their research programme!” said Harawira.
“And as far as government’s promises about jobs in the North, it seems that that statement was … at odds with the truth” said Harawira. “The boss of Stat Oil itself told us that they would be using new Plymouth as their port of supply, and the last time I looked that wasn’t in my electorate.”
Harawira said that he had invited Stat Oil to attend a public meeting last week called on behalf of Northerners concerned about the threat of oil drilling off Northland’s pristine West Coast beaches and harbours.
“Our own government has made no requirement on either Stat Oil, or themselves for that matter, to consult with the people of the north, and given no obligation that they would listen either, so we have to do it ourselves.”
“And given that any deep sea oil drilling programme brings with it the risk of catastrophic oil spills and major concerns for the protection of the marine and coastal environment, you’d think that consultation would be an absolute must, but not at all” said Harawira.
“That’s why people were horrified to hear thatNew Zealand’s Oil Spill Recovery Unit consists of just three 30- foot inflatables, none of which are even allowed to go out where Stat Oil will be drilling!”
“Those who attended the meeting were unanimous in their opposition to deep sea oil drilling” said Harawira “and so too is MANA”.
Mr Harawira said non-renewable energies were the wrong direction for Aotearoa, and supported the call for a transition to a clean renewable energy-based economy, and investment in solar, wind and micro-hydro operations that would be good for whanau, communities, job creation – and the environment.
ENDS
For further information please contact Skye Kimura-Paul, (027) 881-9999.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on June 14, 2014 by admin in John Minto, Press Releases“The Government should not waste any more money on Team NZ’s bid for the next America’s Cup but fund winning teams like the All Blacks to Samoa and our World Champion Waka Ama teams” says Mana candidate for Mangere James Papali’i.
James Papali’i revealed that the World Champion NZ Masters Waka Ama team is not defending their title at the next World Cup in Rio de Janeiro because of lack of funds. SPARC refused to fund them yet Waka Ama is the fastest growing new aquatic sport in the world.
Nearly 90% of Kiwis surveyed by TV3 Campbell Live show supported John Campbell’s call for the AB’s to visit Samoa.
The long awaited visit to Samoa by the All Blacks will have huge social profit value but also provide future All Blacks with a pool of Samoa’s best players to help the AB brand keep on winning.
Legendary AB Leaauli Michael Jones said that he and many others have been trying since 2003 to get the All Blacks to visit not only to his cultural home but for other AB’s like captain Tama Umaga, Christian Cullen, Bryan Williams, iiga Tuigamala, Olo Brown and present players Julian Savea, Ma’a Nonu to name a few.
Over $40 million of taxpayers’ money was spent on the last Team NZ campaign when they lost after leading 8-1 at one stage. It seems this government is only supporting the rich man’s sport even if they lose but not NZ’s All Black brand in their player’s cultural home and otherworld cup holders?
“If the NZ Government is prepared to waste millions on the failed Team NZ project surely supporting Winners the All Blacks to Samoa and World Champion Waka Ama crew is a better investment is it not? “ questioned Samoan Mana candidate Papali’i.
James Papali’i was endorsed on Friday night to be its Mangere Candidate in the coming general election.
For more information call Mana candidate James Papali’i 0210330884This is a Mana Pasifika press release 0276368359.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Posted on June 19, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press ReleasesThe announcement of the Internet Party’s candidates list today gets the full backing from Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau.
“This announcement is great news for Internet MANA” said Hone Harawira.
“We’ve already chosen our first four candidates and we’re in the process of selecting the rest, but it’s good to see who we’re going to be working with in helping to build Internet MANA as a force in New Zealand politics.”
“Our aim as an alliance is to appeal to a broad range of voters, and the Internet Party list will certainly help us do that”
“I think these new faces will appeal to youth and attract people who previously haven’t bothered to vote, so I can see us growing our voter base and increasing our presence in parliament – and that will be good for MANA, the Internet Party and for the Internet MANA alliance.
“I know they were put through a pretty tough selection process and I have no doubt that Internet Party leader Laila Harre will be feeling really positive about the team she has behind her”
ENDS
For further information please contact Skye Kimura-Paul, 0278819999

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Headline: Oil and gas industry not safe enough for expansion into the North

Posted on June 6, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, John Minto, Press Releases“The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has found that government regulation of oil and gas drilling is woefully inadequate – with a pile of big issues that desperately need to be sorted” said Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau.
Dr Jan Wright released her report on the regulation of drilling for oil and gas yesterday.
“This includes the fact that council’s aren’t required to notify local communities of plans to drill in their backyards, that no one has to check if drilling causes leaks into ground water, and it’s not even clear who picks up the tab if something goes wrong.”
“And National’s hell-bent on expanding this shambles out to other regions, with plans for thousands of wells in each, because they care way more about profits for foreign corporates than the safety of Papatūānuku and people. It’s yet another example of why they have to be voted out of government.
“Whānau, marae, hapū, and iwi from all around Te Tai Tokerau are strongly opposed to the expansion of oil and gas drilling and fracking on our lands and in our waters, and now we’ve got even more information for the case against it, so I mihi to Dr Wright for that.
“There are much safer and sustainable ways to build jobs and raise incomes in the North – and there are lots of great ideas for development if the government actually listened to and supported the people on the ground.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Headline: MANA Movement and Internet Party confirm plans to work together

Posted on May 27, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“This deal is good news for MANA” said Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau, following the signing of an agreement for MANA and the Internet Party to enter into a formal alliance in the lead up to the general election. “It’ll help us connect with rangatahi and get more people out to vote, attract a wider voter base, and increase our presence in Parliament – all while holding firm to our policies.”
“And the best news of all is that working together will help us change the government – because there’ll be more MANA and Internet Party MPs to make sure that happens.
“It’s taken time to get to this point, but we wanted to give our members time to get their heads around what this alliance might mean, and I am pleased to advise that our Executive and our membership have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the alliance.”

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/p5fa67u

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on May 21, 2014 by admin in Press Releases, Te Hamua NikoraTe Hāmua Nikora will be launching his campaign to contest the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti seat for MANA in the upcoming election at a Hutt Valley hui tomorrow night.
When: 6:30-8:00pm, Thursday 22 MayWhere: Te Tatau o te Po Marae, 437 Hutt Road, Lower HuttProgramme: mihi whakatau followed by speakers Hone Harawira and Te Hamua Nikora
“We’re fully geared up and ready to go” says Te Hāmua Nikora, “We’re in it to win it!”
“MANA’s priorities are our kids, creating jobs for all who need them, and getting whanau into decent housing. We’ve got a very clear and simple focus to make real progress on what matters most to whanau in Ikaroa-Rāwhiti” says Mr Nikora.
“Te Hāmua did a massive job in the by-election last year and has spent the last year being a staunch advocate for those battling agencies like ACC and to have our local shops rid of the evil of synthetic cannabis” said MANA Leader, Hone Harawira.
“I don’t know of many candidates whose efforts have helped change the law before they’ve even got to Parliament!
All media welcome.
ENDS
For further information please contact Tuta Ngarimu, (027) 498-1051.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/pamfoq8

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on May 14, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press ReleasesHone Harawira is set to ride in the Riders Against Teenage Suicide (RATS) Green ribbon campaign this Friday from Kaikohe to Opotiki.
“Our rangatahi are our future leaders and backbone of this country. I’ve supported this initiative since the first ride in January last year and I will continue to support it until the message gets through to our kids that they are not alone.” Harawira says.
“We’re losing generations to youth suicide in our communities and it’s about time we become more proactive as adults, parents, mums and dads. It’s not ok to just do nothing and think it won’t affect my whānau”
Over 100 riders are expected to participate starting on Friday in Kaikohe and calling in to Huntly, Ngaruawahia, Rotorua and ending in Opotiki on Saturday.
Mana Waiariki candidate Annette Sykes will join the ride from Rotorua to Opotiki in support of a cause that has touched members of her whanau and also to honour a dedicated Mana member of her campaign team, Dixie Hona who was tragically killed during a ride in November last year.
For more information about the Green campaign contact Kahui Neho 021 150 4715.
For further inquiries contact Te Ringahuia Hata 021 236 0931

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/m9n8osg

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on May 14, 2014 by admin in John Minto, Press ReleasesMana Economic Justice Spokesperson John Minto tonight applauded Prime Minister John Key’s announcement that future budgets would have tax cuts.
Mana wants to cut taxes for families on low and middle incomes who are doing the heavy lifting for the economy.”

For a start Mana would:
Abolish GST – a nasty tax on low-income families (the poorest New Zealanders pay 14% of their income on GST while the richest pay less than 5%)
Abolish tax on the first $27,000 of income from wages or salaries
These tax cuts would be offset with taxes on unproductive sectors of the economy which are not only distorting and damaging but are largely untaxed.
Mana would introduce:
A Hone Heke Financial Transactions Tax on currency speculators
A robust capital gains tax
An inheritance tax on estates valued over $500,000
Over the past 30 years the tax burden has been shifted from the wealthy and the corporate sector to wage and salary earners through income tax cuts and GST increases.
“The reality is that most of the richest 1% don’t pay any meaningful tax. This is outrageous and has to stop. Low-income families can no longer afford to carry the idle rich and the tax-avoiding corporate sector.”
“So tax cuts are welcomed by Mana – starting with GST”

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/monmhly

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on May 13, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press ReleasesMana Party Leader and MP Hone Harawira is looking forward to meeting with Australian Tobacco Control experts Jonathan Liberman and Kylie Lindorff tomorrow before they give their oral submission on the Smokefree Environments (Tobacco Plain packaging) Amendment Act to Parliament’s health select committee. They are here to put Australia’s evidence before the committee and advocate for New Zealand to adopt similar plain packaging legislation without delay.
“I want to personally thank them for taking the time to come and support the measure in New Zealand. When the best minds in Australia think the policy is legally robust and working over there, that should give our government the confidence they need to go ahead with it here,” said Mr Harawira.
Harawira said he was impatient with the time it was taking New Zealand to match its packaging laws with Australia, despite its trade partnership obligations.
“There’s hypocrisy in our nation’s leadership when on one day it commits to eradicating tobacco use in Aotearoa before 2025, but then on another says it can wait until arbitrations against Australia are over at the WTO. That’s like saying we’ll do something when pigs fly.”
“And there’s yet more hypocrisy when the government breaches its obligations under the WTO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control by letting the tobacco industry’s scaremongering tactics affect their decision-making on plain packaging.
“It’s a bad look, particularly as you see former tobacco lobbyists line up to represent the National Party in the next elections.”
“I hope the health select committee can rise above these failings and listen carefully to the evidence they hear from these visitors tomorrow.”
“We’ve stalled on plain packaging long enough. Māori kids remain at higher risk of exposure to this form of marketing than other kids. The longer tobacco packs stay as they are, the longer this murdering industry gets to market their deadly product. It’s time for the government to stand up to the tobacco industry and eradicate one of its last forms of advertising”.
ENDS
For further information please contact Jevan Goulter, (022) 088-5646.
Professor Liberman is an international advisor to Australia’s legal defence for its tobacco plain packaging law in arbitrations at the World Trade Organisation, and is Director of the McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer and the Union for International Cancer Control. Professor Lindorff is the Manager of Tobacco Control Policy for Quit Victoria in Australia.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/m9nqw6c

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on May 12, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press ReleasesMANA leader Hone Harawira has announced that Annette Sykes has officially been selected as the Mana party candidate for Waiariki at this year’s election. At the 2011 general election, after only 7 weeks of campaigning, Annette beat the Labour candidate to finish second to Te Ururoa Flavell.
The MANA Leader announced her selection after the Te Arawa kapa haka regionals in Rotorua today. “The choice is clear for Waiariki voters who want to change the government” said Mr Harawira. . A vote for Annette will be the smart vote in Waiariki to get rid of National”
Te Arawa Kaumatua, Te Ariki Morehu is backing Annette Sykes again to make political history by becoming the first woman in 143 years to ever represent the Waiariki electorate.
“We’ve never had a wahine lead us in Parliament and I think it is time that we did,” says Te Ariki Morehu. “There is a perception that Waiariki women, or more specifically Te Arawa women, are oppressed and that we don’t put our women at the top table so I think we as voters need to dismiss that myth by casting a vote for Annette on September 20. It is time for a MANA wahine MP in Waiariki.”

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/l6ezk4f

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

]]>

Harawira: Government continues to have no plan for high Maori youth unemploymenthttps://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/05/09/harawira-government-continues-to-have-no-plan-for-high-maori-youth-unemployment/
Fri, 09 May 2014 05:27:24 +0000http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/05/09/harawira-government-continues-to-have-no-plan-for-high-maori-youth-unemployment/Source: Mana Movement – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Harawira: Government continues to have no plan for high Maori youth unemployment

Posted on May 9, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press ReleasesIn question time yesterday Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau, asked Minister of Finance, Hon Bill English, how it was acceptable that the government claims the economy is going in the right direction when Maori youth unemployment is at 22.1%, nearly four times the national rate of 6%.
“And the scary thing is” said Mr Harawira, “it could be double that if tens of thousands hadn’t up and gone to Australia to find work.”
“The Minister huffed and puffed, waxed and waned, and he even tried a bit of flattery, but the upshot of it all was that there hasn’t been, isn’t, and won’t be any kind of plan to get young Maori into work.”
“Part of that’s because there’s no plan to actually create new jobs, and part of it’s because the government continues to deny the ugly reality of racism in the labour market. It’s no accident that alongside high Maori youth unemployment, the unemployment rate for Pacific Island youth is 25%.
‘The government has failed to step up for our young people and provide them with a decent future. The rate’s even higher than when they took office. It’s a clear example of the fact that the National-Maori Party coalition has been a failed experiment for Maori and needs to end quick smart.”
For further information please contact Jevan Goulter, (022) 088-5646.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/k38hdqb

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on May 8, 2014 by admin in Annette Sykes, Press Releases
“Kim Dotcom has confirmed he will be attending the Te Arawa Kapa Haka Regionals this Saturday 10 May in Rotorua, as a special guest of MANA president, Annette Sykes” said MANA leader Hone Harawira.
“The MANA AGM was the first time he’d ever been to a marae. He said he’d love to come and watch some kapa haka, and the Te Arawa comps just happened to fit perfectly with his schedule” said Harawira.

“I understand Annette will be making a special announcement on Saturday as well so it should be quite a day.”

For further details please contact Te Ringahuia Hata 021 236 0931

The Te Arawa Kapa Haka Regional Competitions will be held at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre 9-10 May 2014.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/pl68bp2

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

“Kim Dotcom has confirmed he will be attending the Te Arawa Kapa Haka Regionals this Saturday 10 May in Rotorua, as a special guest of MANA President, Annette Sykes” said MANA leader Hone Harawira.

“The MANA AGM was the first time he’d ever been to a marae. He said he’d love to come and watch some kapa haka, and the Te Arawa comps just happened to fit perfectly with his schedule” said Harawira.

“I understand Annette will be making a special announcement on Saturday as well so it should be quite a day.”

]]>https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/05/08/mana-internet-tycoon-dotcom-to-watch-haka-comps/feed/1Boots Riley to perform live in Aucklandhttps://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/04/15/boots-riley-to-perform-live-in-auckland/
Mon, 14 Apr 2014 21:10:46 +0000http://thedailyblog.co.nz/?p=45092Press Release: Mana Tamaki Branch are excited to announce that we have a very special guest, Boots Riley, coming to our very own neighbourhood!

On Tuesday April 15 at 7.00pm Boots will be hosting a political discussion and Q&A followed by an acoustic performance, at the Metro Theatre at 362 Massey Road, Mangere East.

Pictures, video interviews and commentary will be tweeted on the hashtags #BootsRiley & #Mana .

Boots Riley is an American poet, rapper, songwriter, producer, screenwriter, humorist, political organiser and community activist, however is best known as lead vocals for The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club.

Light refreshments will be provided as well as Mana merchandise available for purchase at the event.

A koha at the door is appreciated. Nau mai haere mai whanau!

Come and support this local event and enjoy what will be a very interesting and entertaining evening.

A press conference will be held at the UNITE UNION, 6A Western Springs Road, Kingsland 2pm Tuesday, 15 April.

Both MANA and the Internet Party share goals in common with other parties, like getting rid of National and reining in the GCSB. There are also differences, as there are with other parties as well.

MANA accepted a request to talk to the Internet Party in good faith, and those discussions are continuing, but any alliance must take into account our determination to maintain faith with our kaupapa and with our people.

If after listening to the pros and cons, we choose to walk away from any arrangement with the Internet Party or any other party for that matter, then that is a decision that MANA will make. Mind you, if we choose to enter into an arrangement with the Internet Party or anyone else, that too is a decision for MANA to make.

We will be discussing arrangements with other parties at our AGM this Saturday. I expect that debate to reflect the robust, challenging, bold, and innovative nature of the MANA membership, and I can confirm that it will be the membership and not the leadership, who will make the final decision on any possible arrangements.

We are grateful to the Maori Party for highlighting the pitfalls of badly managed coalitions.

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on April 3, 2014 by admin in Annette Sykes, Hone Harawira, Press ReleasesIt is rumoured the government is planning to disestablish Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, the Māori Language Commission, and Te Māngai Pāho, the Māori Broadcasting Funding Agency, and instead bring all responsibility and funding for te reo Māori under the Ministry of Māori Affairs who will contract outputs with a super agency whose leadership will be appointed by the Crown.
“We need to know if this is the case because if it is, the war on protecting our reo from government interference and abuse is back on,” said Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau.
“We ask the Māori Party to come clean about what’s happening, and for them to commit to keeping the protection and development of our reo independent from government and in the hands of Māori where it rightfully belongs,” said Annette Sykes, MANA President .
“If this is what the government is planning, it’s a clear breach of the Treaty and all of the work that’s been done in the last 45 years to get te reo Māori recognised as a national language and be supported to grow and flourish. It’s in direct breach of the outcomes of the WAI11 Te Reo Māori claim which established Te Taura Whiri as an independent body to foster te reo Māori and watch over its progress,” said Ms Sykes.
“It wipes out 30 years of activism around our reo, and is a huge kick in the face for those who fought long and hard for these gains – and the tens of thousands of whānau who’ve slogged their guts out for decades to ensure its survival on the ground,” said Mr Harawira.
“If there was ever a time we need the Māori Party to step up and say ‘hell no’ to the government – this is it. I sincerely hope they’re not going to be brought off by the promise of a few high up jobs for their mates,” said Mr Harawira.
“This is far too important to be the subject of a backroom deal. We need answers now,” concluded Ms Sykes.
ENDS
For further information please contact Jevan Goulter, (022) 088-4656.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/n587zfg

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

“When so-called iwi leaders condemn teachers for daring to highlight the massive failings of the New Zealand education system for Maori children in case the Minister of Education might be embarrassed, then they show themselves up as a sad and pathetic group for whom the warm embrace of government has become more important than the needs of their own children and grandchildren.”

“Just who the hell do they think they are, trying to hide the truth of New Zealand’s failed policies just because the international community is in town?”

“Do these iwi leaders want to hide the fact that we have 285,000 children living in poverty in this country and that 100,000 of them are going to school hungry every single day?”

“Do they actually think we should be shying away from the fact that we have tens of thousands of children suffering from epidemic levels of third world diseases like rheumatic heart disease?”

“Do they truly believe that it reduces our prestige as a people to let the world know that things aren’t all rosy in the ‘land of the long white cloud’?

“Do they not want anyone to know that it is their own Maori children who are suffering the most, that we have thousands of Maori families living in grinding poverty, and that homelessness, joblessness and a bleak future is all many will have to wake up to tomorrow?”

“Do they think we should be hiding what the world already knows – that children from low income homes achieve significantly less than those from wealthier homes?”

“Do they think teachers should not have the right to point out what is already internationally proven – that child poverty and inequality are the biggest hurdles to learning success?”

“And honestly – do they really believe that the truth will harm the prestige of a Minister of Education just because she is Maori?”

“My god … have our iwi leaders become so servile and sycophantic that they would rather put on a smiley face for the world while our children are starving?”

“I am gutted that people who purport to represent Maori people could be so bloody selfish and blind, and I urge them to face up to the realities and demand concrete action to eliminate child poverty in this land of enormous wealth.”

“There may be ‘nicer’ settings for teachers to advocate for underpaid teaching support staff, and to highlight the fact that addressing poverty and inequality is absolutely critical to improving academic success, but the truth there is no nice time to talk about low pay and poverty, and so I support their stand today during the International Summit on Education, tomorrow after everyone has gone home, and every day after that until we have won the fight for our children to be fed at schools, for our families to be provided with a decent living income, and for jobs for all who are able to work.”

ENDS

For further information please contact Jevan Goulter, (022) 088-5646.

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

]]>

No to National or no Deal with Mana – Harawirahttps://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/03/26/no-to-national-or-no-deal-with-mana-harawira/
Tue, 25 Mar 2014 19:30:12 +0000http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/03/26/no-to-national-or-no-deal-with-mana-harawira/

Source: Mana Movement – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: No to National or no Deal with Mana – Harawira

Posted on March 26, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“Dotcom would have to commit to getting rid of National and changing the government before MANA would consider any deal with his Internet Party” said MANA Leader Hone Harawira.
“That’s a bottom line for MANA. I resigned from the Maori Party because their relationship with National was, and continues to be, destructive to Maori. We won’t be going back there for anyone”
MANA will work co-operatively with any party, as we do with the Greens and Labour, that is committed to changing the government we’ve got now” said Harawira “”And I don’t think the Internet Party is ready to take that stand at the moment”
“They don’t have a real membership base, clear policies, recognisable political leaders or any candidates.”
“We were happy to talk about the potential for co-operation, but time is short” said Harawira. “We’ve got an election coming up and campaigns to organise, especially in the Maori Seats. Asking the membership to put all that on hold while we wait for the Internet Party to decide what they stand for is just not an option”.
“Our Executive has decided that there won’t be any more meetings on possible co-operation until their intentions are clear” said Harawira “and we’re just going to get on with planning our electorate and party vote campaigns.”
“If the Internet Party commits to getting rid of National, announcing policies similar to MANA’s, and getting candidates and leaders that can be trusted to implement them, then we can talk.
“They know how to get in touch with us.”

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on March 19, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, News, Press Releases“Two years ago the Waitangi Tribunal found that successive governments had breached the Treaty of Waitangi by systemically failing to fund and support Kōhanga Reo’s Māori language strategy, and called on government to apologise for its failings and appoint an independent adviser to oversee an urgent programme to: overhaul policy, increase participation, improve quality, increase funding, and provide the support necessary for upgrade and maintenance of Kōhanga facilities,” said Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau.
“Last year, the independent advisor, Michael Cullen, tabled his report which supported the Tribunal’s rulings and recommended that Kōhanga should have its own legislation, funding and qualifications framework.”
“And yet all of that good work has been paralysed by allegations of misspending by a National Kōhanga Reo Trust subsidiary, and an investigation that looked at something else – what a complete waste of time that was!”
“I’m gutted that the good work of Kōhanga has been put on hold. I’m gutted that the talk about poor governance and bad management has created major divisions within the Kōhanga Reo Movement. I’m gutted that people who are busting their arses out there to keep the fires burning are still struggling to get by because funding, maintenance, and management issues are not being addressed. And I am bloody pissed off that at the bottom of it all, our kids are missing out because adults have screwed up.”
“There is a level of unhappiness and mistrust within the Movement that must be dealt with, and widespread concern that the leadership has lost touch with the people” said Harawira.
“It’s time to clear house and let new trustees rebuild the faith of the whānau in Kōhanga Reo.”
“I recommend that senior trustees of the National Trust step down from the Trust and allow new trustees to run the affairs of the Kōhanga Reo Movement, and that a new strategy be adopted to ensure Kōhanga Reo is seen to be more inclusive, more positive, more proactive, and more welcoming to new whānau and new tamariki.”
ENDS
For further information please contact Jevan Goulter, (022) 088-5646.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/mj5ecum

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on March 19, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“Last year I was invited to meet with Kim Dotcom, but I declined because I didn’t want to get swamped by the Labour, Greens and NZ First pilgrimages to the mansion,” said Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau.
“But when the invitation was extended again earlier this year I decided to accept, but not at Coatesville. I met with Dotcom at my mates place on the Shore where we discussed a number of issues:
· How much we both dislike the way John Key has allowed NZ’s intelligence services to be used as pawns by American big business against a New Zealand resident;
· How much we both dislike John Key’s cavalier dismissal of the rights of ordinary New Zealanders;
· How well things are going in the Bundesliga;
· How bleak NZ’s future under National will look if John Key keeps floggin’ off our key assets;
· What MANA would like to see in a positive future for Aotearoa;
· What Dotcom might want to see happen in Aotearoa; and
· What wonderful beaches we have in Aotearoa.
“We clearly have common interests, but for the record, I didn’t ask him to fund MANA, and he didn’t offer to either. I didn’t ask him to join MANA, and he didn’t ask me to join his party.”
“I haven’t spoken publicly about the meeting because I haven’t yet spoken with the MANA Exec about it. That’s set for later this week.
“There are no further meetings planned.”
ENDS
For further information please contact Jevan Goulter, (022) 088-5646.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/oyqsdck

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on March 12, 2014 by admin in Annette Sykes, Press ReleasesThe heartland of the Waiariki electorate, Rotorua, will host the upcoming MANA Movement’s AGM on 11-13 April.
“Recent attacks by John Key on Hone Harawira regarding his trip to Mandela’s funeral and leave from Parliament have proved to be hit for MANA, with many branches enjoying an upsurge in interest and new memberships. The Rotorua branch alone has signed up over 100 new members in the past week!” said Annette Sykes, President of the MANA Movement.
“Interest in MANA and what we stand for is growing weekly, and a high turnout from around the country has already been indicated.
“People are very determined to change the government and MANA is looking forward to mounting a winning campaign – including in Rotorua and the key seat of Waiariki.
The AGM will be held at Mataikōtare Marae, 17 Mataikōtare Road, Te Ngae. MANA members can register via their local branch or online at www.mana.org.nz.
ENDS
For further information please contact Noel Jory, (07) 347 1428, or snjory@xtra.co.nz

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/nl4yre2

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on March 11, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“Treasury tells us there are 285,000 kids living in poverty, the Ministry of Health tells us that 100,000 of them are going to school hungry every day … and the Prime Minister tells us he wants to change the flag!”
“For heaven’s sake, what does it take to get this government to focus on the real issues?” asked Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau.
“Eliminating child poverty, homes for all families and jobs for everyone – those are the real issues , not the flag” said Harawira. “Hungry kids can’t eat a flag.”
ENDS
For further information please contact Jevan Goulter, (022) 088-5646.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/kz9ku3o

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

]]>

More than just a loss of funding – Harawirahttps://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/03/11/more-than-just-a-loss-of-funding-harawira/
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/03/11/more-than-just-a-loss-of-funding-harawira/#commentsTue, 11 Mar 2014 00:30:09 +0000http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/03/11/more-than-just-a-loss-of-funding-harawira/

Source: Mana Movement – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: More than just a loss of funding – Harawira

Posted on March 11, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“I have just received a letter written by a woman I hold in the highest regard, a woman of intellectual and academic integrity who is a passionate believer in Māori research excellence contributing positively to the wider society that we know as Aotearoa New Zealand.”
“These are her thoughts about the government’s decision to cut funding to the Māori Centre of Research Excellence, Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga. I doubt that they will make any difference, but I can’t simply sit on such a letter without trying to share it with you.”
ENDS
For further information please contact Jevan Goulter, (022) 088-5646.
OPEN LETTER FROM PROFESSOR LINDA TUHIWAI SMITH
“Kia Ora, please forgive any spelling or grammar errors.
“It takes years to develop a research infrastructure. It takes years to develop centres of research excellence. Firstly, it takes an excellent education system as researchers must succeed to the highest qualifications in their fields and new researchers need to be trained continuously. It takes the right synergies of knowledge as excellent researchers are trained and supported in diverse knowledge cultures.
“It takes discipline, perseverance and tolerance as researchers learn as much through failure and elimination as they do from success. It takes insight to understand the implications of serendipity. It takes difference and determination to carve out new areas of knowledge that challenge current thinking. It takes a wide community and network of similar minds as researchers learn from each other. It takes vision and stamina to build novel programmes of research that can address complex and inter-related problems. It takes a dose of sheer doggedness to forge a research direction when others want to set out to someplace different or to stay put. It takes an alliance of related systems that review, fund and publish research, that translate it into public knowledge like curriculum, that apply research into other contexts, that produce new or improved practices and products. It takes collaborations across disciplinary, institutional, national and international boundaries to get the best minds and skills available to advance the research. It takes institutional support to provide the best working environment for researchers. It takes institutional and public patience to wait for the next chapter of life changing research. It takes massive investment by the public through education and by the public and others through the funding of research. It takes a certain kind of ambition to persist in the pursuit of knowledge that may not yield quick fixes, widgets and gadgets, or social transformation in this generation and it takes a certain kind of society that believes it important to invest in the continuous development of knowledge for its longer term well-being.
“In my area of Māori research, it took decades to develop the foundations of a single national research infrastructure. It took decades upon decades for Māori to make their way, one by one, through an education system that was not excellent to gain the highest qualifications. It took persistence to survive in knowledge cultures that did not value diversity let alone Māori knowledge. It took vision to focus on producing a critical mass of Māori with the highest academic qualifications from New Zealand and international institutions. It took the largest and possibly the most novel and challenging of collaborations to build a strong network of researchers who would focus their minds and efforts on Māori development. It rounded up all the ‘ones’ and the ‘twos’ of Māori researchers scattered across institutions to create a critical community of researchers who could support new research. It established journals, created avenues of engagement with the most suspicious of communities, and stimulated intellectual engagements across disciplines, communities, and languages. It supported research that was explicitly focussed on creating change, on improving outcomes and on developing communities. It had to win institutional support by winning funding.
“It created novel approaches that other centres of excellence borrowed and adapted. It created new methodologies for exploring social and cultural interfaces that are cited in international journals and applied in many other contexts. It’s capacity development programme for PhDs is replicated in parts of Canada and the USA at top institutions.
“So what tumbles down when Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga is informed it will no longer be funded? A centre? Some funding? Yes of course, but much more. What tumbles down will cut more deeply into the capacity, momentum, community, system of knowledge, networks, relationships, intellectual excitement that was emerging from this Centre of Research Excellence. What tumbles down is an infrastructure that was built from scratch, from ones and twos, that had no previous models to borrow from, that was truly internationally innovative, multi multi disciplinary, that was producing exciting young scholars footing it internationally and in our own communities. What tumbles down is a national infrastructure that could support Māori development across a range of dimensions that simply cannot be provided for by existing institutions. More importantly what tumbles down is a set of beliefs that the research system is genuinely interested in innovation, has a capacity to recognise or know how to support innovation outside its cultural frame, believes in its own rhetoric or actually understands the short term nature of its investments in research.
Professor Linda Tuhiwai SmithPro Vice Chancellor MāoriDean of Te Pua Wānanga ki te AoThe School of Māori and Pacific DevelopmentThe University of Waikato New Zealand

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/oawoz3d

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on March 10, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“MANA will stand candidates in all seven Maori electorates and potentially in some general seats as well”, said Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau following the Prime Minister’s announcement this afternoon that the general election will be held on Saturday 20 September.
“The goal is to increase our electorate seats and party votes with the aim of winning 4 more seats in the next Parliament, and the thousands of MANA members around the country are all set for the task.
“As with the 2011 election, MANA will be campaigning on key policies to address growing poverty and inequality, including greater government investment in job creation – particularly for young people, housing, and feeding kids at school.
“Creating a better future for our kids and our young people is our driving force for the election and we will be giving it everything we’ve got on their behalf.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/pru8mnl

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on March 10, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“Unbelievable” was the reaction of MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Hone Harawira, upon hearing the news that government had decided to cut funding to the Māori research body, Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga. “At a time when Māori are under such pressure in terms of health, housing, education and jobs, this decision to kill off the country’s leading Māori research institute is a massive step backwards for all Māori.”
“Ngā Pae is the one place where Māori researchers could access funding to research issues affecting Māori people and outline solutions. Now that they are gone, where are the solutions going to come from?” asked Harawira. “I doubt that the answers will come from the white Australians that sat on the panel to decide who gets research funding. We all know their track record on Indigenous rights – now it looks like they’re calling the shots on research priorities here as well!
“As for Stephen Joyce saying ‘It is important that this is an independent process with scientists measuring the progress of each of these COREs’, he clearly has no idea of our history and the developments made over the past 30 years to develop a solid Māori research base.
“The notion that Māori research should be defined and led by white scientists was rejected by our people a long time ago and for a very good reason – most of it was based on ignorance and racist ideologies” said Harawira. “Joyce would do well to read a paper on the general direction of research funding in Aotearoa, submitted recently by leading Māori academics such as Linda Smith, Mason Durie, Margaret Mutu, Leonie Pihama, Papaarangi Reid, and Paul Tapsell.
“And again, I challenge the Māori Party to say ‘enough is enough’ and walk away from National. They’ve stripped the welfare budget, they’ve gutted the state housing sector, and now they’re killing off the Māori research body qualified to provide the analysis of the harm being caused by these policies.
“The only viable position for the Māori Party is to reinstate funding for Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga or walk. Huffing and puffing won’t cut it anymore.
ENDS
For further information please contact Jevan Goulter, (022) 088-5646.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/k2e33a8

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on March 1, 2014 by admin in Annette Sykes, Press ReleasesThe heartland of the Waiariki electorate, Rotorua, will host the upcoming MANA Movement’s AGM on 11-13 April.
“Recent attacks by John Key on Hone Harawira regarding his trip to Mandela’s funeral and leave from Parliament have proved to be hit for MANA, with many branches enjoying an upsurge in interest and new memberships. The Rotorua branch alone has signed up over 100 new members in the past week!” said Annette Sykes, President of the MANA Movement.
Interest in MANA and what we stand for is growing weekly, and a high turnout from around the country has already been indicated.
“People are very determined to change the government and MANA is looking forward to mounting a winning campaign – including in Rotorua and the key seat of Waiariki.
The AGM will be held at Mataikōtare Marae, 17 Mataikōtare Road, Te Ngae.
Members can register via their local branch or online at www.mana.org.nz.
ENDS
For further information please contact Noel Jory 07 347 1428, or snjory@xtra.co.nz

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/mk9lrqf

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on February 26, 2014 by admin in Annette Sykes, Press Releases“On behalf of the MANA Movement, I’d like to congratulate Matt McCarten on his appointment as David Cunliffe’s Chief of Staff”, said Annette Sykes, MANA President.

“It’s great having someone we know is committed to the same broad goals as us leading Labour’s election strategy.
“Matt is a committed campaigner for justice and human rights and, as part of that, he helped in the establishment of MANA as our inaugural President.

“Through the positive relationship he already has with us and the Greens, and now with Labour, we have no doubt his appointment will help build a strong and united coalition of the left to change the government.
“This is great news”, concluded Ms Sykes.

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on February 24, 2014 by admin in John Minto, Press Releases“It’s nowhere near enough for a full-time worker to live on”, said John Minto, MANA Co Vice-President in response to the government’s announcement to raise the minimum wage to $14.25 an hour.
A staggering 40% of families in poverty are those where at least one parent is in full-time work. There is no clearer picture that wages at the bottom end need a much bigger boost than a measly 50c an hour.
“A living wage is where we should be heading with some urgency – not consigning minimum wage earners to the line at the food bank every week to feed their families.
MANA’s supports an immediate rise to $15 an hour, and is promoting the need to index the minimum wage to 66% of the average wage as superannuation is. It would set the minimum wage at around the same rate as the “Living Wage” which has been calculated at $18.60 an hour.
ENDS
For further information, please contact John Minto (022) 085-0161

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/lqparbk

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Posted on February 11, 2014 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“I will always support any anti-tobacco legislation” said Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau “but insisting on tobacco being sold in plain packets while allowing Big Tobacco to sue us for doing so is just bloody bizarre!”
“It simply doesn’t make sense to approve plain packaging if the government won’t commit to removing tobacco provisions from the TPPA (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement)” said Harawira “because those provisions let tobacco companies sue the NZ government if it introduces laws, like plain packaging, which impact their profits”
“Tobacco giant Phillip Morris has already taken a case against the Australian government for introducing plain packaging” said Harawira “and National says the progression of the NZ bill depends what happens in Australia and that could take years”
“So despite the window dressing provided by this Bill, it seems its business as usual for the Nats – corporate profits ahead of the health of the people. They’ve refused to commit to protecting New Zealander’s from Big Tobacco, and have instead chosen to accept tobacco’s right to stop us making decisions that may save the lives of our people.”
“If this government is serious about the health of its own people, it will push this bill through under urgency before the election. And I’m betting they won’t”
ENDS
For further information please contact Marisa Balle, (027) 525-9277

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Other posts by admin →

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

If you did, please share it with your whānau and friends, and help spread the word!

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/nehmqbr

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

National is ignoring the elephant in the classroom with its plan to introduce “executive principals”, “change principals”, “lead teachers” and “expert teachers” into New Zealand schools.

Prime Minister John Key says it’s about reinforcing the kiwi belief in “egalitarianism” but egalitarian New Zealand was buried in 1984 by Labour and National and low-income communities are bearing the brunt of the enormous social problems, included educational underachievement, which have followed.

The elephant in every classroom is that student achievement overall is directly related to the income of the families whose children are in the classroom.

Inequality is widening in New Zealand and the achievement gap between students from high and low income families is likewise increasing as confirmed in the latest PISA (Programme in International Student Assessment) report.

The government is ignoring the elephant and instead implying that schools and teachers are the problem.

To improve egalitarianism and improve educational achievement the government should be looking at policies to reduce income inequality and the nasty social problems which go with it.

For example reducing the tax burden on low-income families who pay 14% of their income on GST (the rich pay less than 5%), increasing the minimum wage and providing good jobs should be at the heart of government policy.

How could we better spend $350 in schools?

The government’s additional $350 million would be much better spent reducing class sizes in schools in low-income communities. The government already provides massive funding subsidies to private schools to enable them to do this so why is this being withheld from state schools where the need is far greater?

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Why are you being so nasty about my going to South Africa to farewell Nelson Mandela?

Were you upset by the world media calling you the “unidentified guest” while I was on national television dancing with Madiba’s people in Soweto? I’m sorry about that John, but was that my fault?

And yeah … I know I said your delegation didn’t truly represent those who loved Mandela but I wasn’t the only one. Heaps of people said so – even the media. I mean look at it. You went (and you didn’t even know what your position was on apartheid!), and you took two members of the National government that supported the apartheid-backed Springbok Tour of 1981.

I mean really … is that the best you can do to represent us at the memorial services for one of the greatest men of our time?

And I heard your comments about there being “people with a greater claim to going than me”. Yeah – like John Minto and Sue Bradford. But you didn’t take them. You didn’t even ask them did you John? So why are you being so bitchy about me going when you didn’t take them anyway?

And yes, I know you chose Pita Sharples to be the “Maori” on your delegation, but when it came to who got into the stadium you didn’t pick him did you John? You left him standing out in the rain and it was only through the good graces of David Cuniliffe stepping aside that Pita actually got in. Is that why you’re picking on me – because my visibility embarrassed your clumsy treatment of Dr Sharples?

And as for my using taxpayer’s money on a “jolly”, isn’t that just a little churlish and mean-spirited John? I went to memorial services just like you. I went to a private service at Mandela’s family home (not sure whether you got to do that John). And I went to view his body just like you (except my wife did a karanga mate as we Maori do, and I followed that up with a haka). So if I did what you did, except better, how come I have to pay the money back but you don’t have to?

Or are you just attacking me to try to take people’s attention off the bigger issues of the day, like all those reports highlighting how deep child poverty is in Aotearoa, or how the referendum showed that NZers don’t support your selling our assets, or the public anger about you selling off our sovereignty under the TPPA, or how pissed off people are that you’ve done a deep sea oil deal with a company that’s just been hammered with a $16 billion lawsuit over claims and compensation for contaminated sites in the US? Is that what this is all about John?

Your attack on me is just mean John. So maybe if I tell you why I went, you’ll forgive and forget.

You see John, as soon as I heard Mandela had died I cried. And then I decided I was going to go to South Africa.

I wanted to farewell a man I have always looked up to, a man who was a hero to people of colour all across the world, who suffered under one of the most deeply racist regimes of our time, and walked out of jail after 27 years with a smile on his face and love in his heart.

I went to farewell a man who cast aside forever the ugliness of apartheid, and gave us the phrase “in my country we go to prison first and then become President.”

I went to farewell the man who said that when we stopped the game in Hamilton during the 1981 Tour “it was like the sun came out”. Yes John … I can remember being there and I was proud of being there.

I went to farewell a wonderful, warm and caring man that I was privileged to meet when he came to thank the protesters in 1995.

You see John, I went to farewell a man that I loved.

And if you want to condemn me for that then you go right ahead.

Hone HarawiraMP Tai Tokerau

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

ABM represents a new wave of struggle in South Africa against the corruption-ridden ANC and its free-market policies which have enriched a tiny elite at the expense of the poorest South Africans.

New Zealanders who’d like to contribute to this appeal before the funds are sent can make donations through the Mana Movement account 38-9011-0786740-02 and put ABM donation in the details. In a week or so the money will be transferred to ABM to support their community campaigns for decent housing and we will announce the amount donated and sent.

Meanwhile Prime Minister John Key uses every opportunity to attack anti-apartheid activists just as his predecessor Rob Muldoon did in 1981.

Key chose to take his National Party cronies Jim Bolger and Don McKinnon on a jaunt to South Africa for Mandela’s funeral to glad hand with global celebrities and appear as an unidentified guest in US media coverage.

These tired old tories were on the side of a government which backed the Springbok tour in 1981 and attacked Mandela as a terrorist and the ANC as a terrorist organisation.

Now from the heights of hypocrisy Key is taking over where Muldoon left off.

“National’s education policies have just taken a hammering in an international assessment which has heavily downgraded NZ student’s achievements in maths, science and reading” said MANA leader and Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira “And yet they refuse to accept that the deteriorating test scores and NZ dropping out of the top 10 are because of their out-of-touch education policies.”

“The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report highlights the fact that National’s approach has increased inequities between schools” said Harawira. “It also notes that the gap between test scores in high and low decile schools is bigger than ever before, and ranks NZ firmly in the bottom third of OECD countries in terms of equity rating.”

“The report recommended increasing equity, increasing resources and providing help for poor children, but this government has put all of its energy into other areas like national standards, private education, and now charter schools.”

“They have also cut back on science advisors, attacked the unions and criticised teacher standards, all the while paying them through a broken Novapay system, the sum result of which has been to confuse, confound and demoralise teachers in what was widely recognised as one of the best teaching collectives in the world.”

“The PISA report proves conclusively that National is failing our teachers and failing our kids, particularly those in the poorest schools and those living in the poorest areas” said Harawira, “and given that Māori are already way behind the rest of the country in educational achievement, the outlook under this National led government is bloody grim.”

The MANA Leader says the fact that our students’ achievement rates are seriously declining comes as no real surprise. “It’s the governments inadmission of their dismal performance which is the real issue.”

ENDS

For further information please contact Marisa Balle, (027) 525-9277

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

MANA is pleased Auckland Transport and the New Zealand Transport Agency have finally acknowledged what the rest of New Zealand has known for a long time – that Mangere, Otahuhu and Otara residents have been treated with contempt as Auckland Council transport planners have tried to bulldoze a new motorway through their suburbs. Yesterday the agencies agreed they should have consulted earlier and that’s an understatement.

“They would never have tried the same bulldozer tactics in one of the flasher suburbs of Auckland” said MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Hone Harawira.

The backdown is a credit to the new community group ROCC – Respect Our Community Campaign – which is leading the charge.

“I was delighted to speak at the opening of this anti-motorway campaign which was led by MANA candidates in the recent local body elections. And I’m thrilled that our candidate for the Auckland City Council Mangere-Otahuhu Ward, Roger Fowler, is the chair of the new community group ROCC which was formed to fight the motorway project.”

Under ROCC the campaign is going from strength to strength. A petition with over 4000 signatures was presented to local MP Su’a William Sio last Saturday, and there are plans to extend the campaign in the New Year.

“MANA will continue to give its wholehearted support to ROCC’s campaign” said Mr Harawira.

ENDS

For further information please contact Marisa Balle (027) 525-9277

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

The secrecy around the Trans- Pacific Partnership Agreement talks is on the agenda at this week’s media conference to be attended by MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Hone Harawira.

“If corporate bullying, the ceding of our sovereignty, and the inability to make our own decisions and set our own priorities for our own country isn’t enough to walk away from the TPPA like other nations have, questions need to be asked around not just the secrecy of the process, but whether all New Zealanders have been fairly consulted on this document,” says Harawira.

The media briefing provides an opportunity for different political parties to voice their concerns about the secrecy of the talks and respond to the online petition signed by 26,000 people including letters to MP’s

Harawira says the full and far reaching implications of such an important agreement are yet to be understood by the public. “What we do know so far is that the TPPA means a huge increase in unemployment, dismal pay rates and work conditions, disastrous environmental impacts, worsening health outcomes, the list goes on. The government needs front up, be honest, and release the entire text before any decisions are made.”

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

The bill is likely to come up a bit later than we thought. I’m estimating it will start anytime between 8:00 and 9:00pm and will run for an hour.

There will be time for a waiata at the end of the hour, after Hone speaks a second time.

Hone has asked Wellington-based Singer Bella Kalolo to do a waiata at the end of the hour. It’s Whitney Houston’s ‘The Greatest Love of All’ – please feel free to join in, and please also feel free to do a waiata Maori afterwards if you feel inspired to do so!

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

The bill is likely to come up a bit later than we thought. I’m estimating it will start anytime between 8:00 and 9:00pm and will run for an hour.

There will be time for a waiata at the end of the hour, after Hone speaks a second time.

Hone has asked Wellington-based Singer Bella Kalolo to do a waiata at the end of the hour. It’s Whitney Houston’s ‘The Greatest Love of All’ – please feel free to join in, and please also feel free to do a waiata Maori afterwards if you feel inspired to do so!

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Hone Harawira, leader of the MANA Movement and MP for Tai Tokerau, will use his opportunity during the General debate to pay tribute to Georgina Beyer.

“She may have been in a different party, and she may have lived a completely different life to me, but Georgina is a knowledgeable and forthright advocate for human rights, who teaches us all to be strong in our beliefs to be true to our history, to never back down from a challenge, and to respect all those who want to be positive contributors to our society regardless of sex, race, creed and gender.”

Hone’s speech will come up around 4pm this afternoon Wed 13 November 2013. Hone invites you all to come along to the house to hear the speech.

It will be broadcast live on the Parliament Channel and on Radio …

ENDS

For all media enquiries contact Marisa Balle on 027 525 9277

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

“Today government will ram through legislation to let Sky City Casino massively expand their casino operations regardless of the damage government already knows will be caused to ordinary Kiwi families,” says MANA leader and MP for Tai Tokerau, Hone Harawira.

This afternoon Parliament will pass the New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill to allow Sky City to expand their casino operations, in return for building a convention centre. Granting 230 new pokie machines, 52 new gambling tables, and a 35-year licence extension, is simply not worth the increase in relationship breakdowns, depression, suicide, family violence, increased money laundering, job losses, increased problem gambling and financial problems, as identified by government’s own Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment-compiled regulatory impact statement.”

“The return to Sky City will far outweigh the financial cost of the convention centre which means they, along with the National and Labour MPS they’ve showered with gifts to keep them on side, will be the big winners”, says Harawira. ”MANA has opposed the Bill at all stages and will actively campaign to repeal the legislation after the next election,” said Harawira.

ENDS

For further information please contact Marisa Balle on (027) 525-9277

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

To coincide with the first reading of the Feed the Kids Bill, MANA will be hosting a breakfast at Parliament with a local school who is fully behind the need for government to fund breakfast and lunch at all decile 1-2 schools.

MANA Party Leader Hone Harawira says he’s hopeful that the schools support will remind his fellow MPs there are real kids on the receiving end of high unemployment, the high cost of living, and persistently low wages.

“Another near 4000 workers lost their jobs last week. The impacts of such phenomenal job losses for our kids is seriously incomprehensible. This bill needs to be supported to select committee so there can at least be an open debate about theissue.”

The Bill is already being supported by numerous organisations who have worked for decades towards enhancing the well-being of children. MANA is proud to support the work these groups have already achieved and say that the Feed the Kids Bill will compliment the existing programs by ensuring ALL 100,000 kids that go to school hungry will get fed.

“Presently, only some of our kids get fed just some of the time. Whilst it’s great that the government acknowledges the issue is real, there are obvious limitations on what they will do. We need all of our kids fed all of the time. Under the current programs, about a quarter of our hungry kids are getting fed. This just isn’t good enough.”

The event will be held on Wednesday 13 November and begin at 8.30am at the steps of Parliament. Breakfast will be held in the Loaves and Fishes Hall at 8.50am, followed by a tour of Parliament for the children at 9.45am.

For all media enquiries contact Marisa Balle on 027 525 9277

ENDS

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

“We had a really positive and productive meeting tonight. The focus was on building and enhancing an independent Maori voice in Parliament – which was fitting given it coincided with the anniversary of He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tirene signed by rangatira in 1835 to assert Maori independence,” said MANA President, Annette Sykes.

“We have both committed to developing a flagship policy framework as the basis of a working relationship – with the clear goal of improving the wellbeing of Maori. We share grave concerns about rising Maori unemployment, ever-reducing incomes, poor housing and increasing homelessness, growing child poverty and tamariki going to school hungry. ”

“Maori clearly want us to work together to provide an independent voice in Parliament, and we’ll continue to meet to develop the policy framework and aim to launch it early in the new year.” A meeting between both party leaders is also planned for the coming weeks.

“As well as policy, we will also continue to meet to discuss strategic and co-operation matters.”

“MANA has always been very clear that we won’t work with National, nor enter into any arrangements with parties that do, because they are so harmful. This is a significant point of difference with the Maori party that we’ll be working through. The plan is to make a further announcement on this before christmas.”

“The most important thing, at this early stage, is that we’ve been face to face with old friends to discuss how to best serve the interests of Maori and a kaupapa Maori approach.”

ENDS

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

“For all their big talk about helping vulnerable kids, this government just don’t give a damn” said Hone Harawira, MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau, when he learnt that the Children’s Commissioner, Dr Russell Wills, has sought funding from a charitable trust to pay to measure child poverty because the government won’t.

In their December 2012 report, the Children’s Commissioner’s Expert Advisory Group on Child Poverty recommended the measurement of child poverty, the setting of short and long term poverty-reduction targets, and regular monitoring and reporting of results as a first-step to address child poverty.

“The government spends billions to bail out finance companies, gives huge backhanders to foreign corporates, and changes the law so property developers and casinos can cash in big time – but they won’t spend a penny to measure child poverty.”

“And while I’m gutted I’m not surprised. This is the government whose response to 100,000 Kiwi kids going to school hungry every day was to give some of them weetbix – and then pat themselves on the back for it.”

“Our kids deserve much more than that, and MANA will work with like-minded parties to make sure they get it.”

ENDS

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

]]>

Harawira: 6 years on from Operation 8 and government is still breaking the lawhttps://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/10/15/harawira-6-years-on-from-operation-8-and-government-is-still-breaking-the-law/
Tue, 15 Oct 2013 02:30:04 +0000http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/10/15/harawira-6-years-on-from-operation-8-and-government-is-still-breaking-the-law/Source: Mana Movement – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Harawira: 6 years on from Operation 8 and government is still breaking the law

“Six years on from the Police raids of Ruatoki in 2007 and government is still breaking the law” said MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Hone Harawira.

“When the police spied on the people in the Urewera’s they broke the law – pure and simple. And when they followed that up by smashing their way into people’s homes, throwing up blockades at Ruatoki and Taneatua and detaining people without proper authority, the Police’s own watchdog – the Independent Police Complaints Authority – went so far as to call Police actions “unlawful, unjustified, and unreasonable”.

“The government’s response? Deny all wrongdoing and change the law to make what was illegal, now legal.

“Six years later the Government Communications Security Bureau gets sprung illegally spying on NZ citizens, and the government’s response? Exactly the same – deny all wrongdoing and change the law to make what was illegal now legal.

“The difference now though is the outrage of ordinary citizens who have finally cottoned on to the depth and breadth of government spying.

“Now it’s not just Maori activists, Greenpeace campaigners and union organisers. Today government is spying into the lives of ordinary Kiwis – their life details checked, cross-checked, amended, debated, deleted, destroyed and dehumanised, without their knowledge and without their consent – by a network of computers run by Work and Income, Housing New Zealand, Accident Compensation Commission, Child, Youth and Family, Inland Revenue, the Justice Department, Corrections, the Police, and no doubt a few other departments and agencies.

“And thanks to the efforts of the Waihopai Warriors and the whistleblowing of Edward Snowden, we also know that the GCSB has been illegally snooping into our phone calls, emails, texts, facebook and twitter – not in defence of New Zealand’s security, but to help the morally and financially bankrupt United States of America.

“The Kim Dotcom fiasco is simply the most high-profile example of NZ spy agencies acting on behalf of American commercial interests and happily breaking NZ laws as they did so. It wasn’t the first example, and the scary thing is that it won’t be the last.

“All of this makes the convictions of the Urewera 4 for illegal possession of firearms look bloody pathetic, particularly given how many farmers and hunters both here in Otago and up in the Far North are probably running around with unregistered guns right now.

“As we recall the racism and the terrorism imposed upon the people of Tuhoe in 2007, I call on all Kiwis to note that on this very day Parliament is debating the second reading of the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Bill which this government is pushing through to grant the GCSB and the National Security Agency of the USA, extended powers of surveillance over New Zealand citizens, without people’s knowledge and without their consent.”

For further information please contact Helen Potter, (021) 060-8910.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

“MANA supports any measure to protect children from abuse” says Hone Harawira, MANA leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau. “And on that basis, we’ll support the government’s Vulnerable Children Bill to select committee.

“But there’s a whole range of problems with the Bill that I’ll be keeping tabs on.

“Government wants to up the reporting of child abuse, even though Child Youth and Family admit that they haven’t even got the resources to deal with their current caseload” said Harawira.

“They’re talking about vetting hundreds of thousands of government workers, which is going to cost millions in itself, without even knowing if it will actually help protect our kids.

“And they want to sack anyone accused of offending against children – no investigation, no trial, no appeal – that’s a recipe for persecution if ever I heard one, and no guarantee that kids will be better protected.

“And all of that simply reinforces the belief that government is happy to take the stick to poor families, but won’t help them by increasing the minimum wage, or investing in job creation, or backing a feed the kids programme in schools, or even letting them stay in their state houses.

“I don’t doubt that the Minister is sincere in wanting to protect vulnerable children, but it all rings hollow when her government’s only measures are all punitive.

“I’ll back the Bill at first reading, but I’ll be watching to see whether or not the concerns I’ve raised here are dealt with before I vote at the second reading.

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

“I’ve got mixed emotions about government announcing the funding of the first five charter schools” said MANA leader and Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira.

“I know how hard it is trying to meet the exacting standards set by the Ministry of Education” said Harawira, “and yet while everybody else is playing by the rules, here’s the government throwing money at charter schools which don’t have to use the national curriculum, or be held up to national standards, or have to put qualified teachers in front of the kids, or be accountable for their decisions under the Official Information Act.”

“On the other hand, I know the people involved in the two Tai Tokerau projects and they are genuinely good people, dedicated to doing the best for Maori kids. The Leadership Academy already does a wonderful job and the Whangaruru project, although new, kicks off with the best of intentions. And the kids they’re going to help are going to be young Maori, so I wish them all the best.”

“The reality is that 90% of Maori kids are in the mainstream, but instead of a helping those schools to develop a stronger, more robust learning and support network for Maori kids, government has instead scrapped the proven Te Kotahitanga programme and got them all worrying about ERO visits, school closures, cuts in funding, league tables, national standards, and Novopay.

“And finally, if it’s educational success for Maori kids that the government is after, why not increase the funding for Kura Kaupapa Maori, which has proven to be the highest achieving school system Maori kids have ever had?”

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

MANA candidate for Wellington Regional Council, Ariana Paretutanganui-Tamati, would push for a ”maximum salary” for Councillors and senior-management staff, as well as a minimum ”living-wage” to increase pay for low-paid staff.

Wellington City Council has already resolved in principle to move towards raising its minimum wage to $18.40 per hour, (compared to only $13.75 required by law), and also to require contractors to pay their employees accordingly.

In Auckland, John Minto is calling for the Mayor’s salary would be set at four times the living

wage and the Auckland City CEO’s salary to five times the living wage. ”Wellington Councillors should have the same cap on their salaries linking them to the salary of their lowest-paid staff”, says Ms Paretutanganui-Tamati. ”Implementing a living wage in this way would also provide a model for all other employers who care about our country and our people. It’s is about bringing us all together as members of one society, with everyone having a shared interest in lifting wages and salaries for everyone together”, she explains.

“We cannot continue this culture of remunerating Councillors, whom we elect to represent us in a spirit of public service and democratic ideals, as if they were board members of commercial corporations, and paying senior Council management as if they were high-flyers running a business for private profit. This is particularly offensive when families are struggling in this era of low wages and no guaranteed hours of work”, she says.

Ms Paretutanganui would call for an immediate salary-freeze for all Wellington Councillors until the living wage is fully implemented for all staff, and contractors’ employees.

“MANA calls for Councils to show the same leadership throughout Aotearoa, to oppose the corporate culture of greedy, exponential salary increases for senior managers while wages for employees are screwed down to the minimum”, concludes Ms Paretutanganui-Tamati.

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

The purpose of local government in Wellington will be to provide for social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing.

All people should be able to democratically participate in all decisionmaking.Local and Regional Councils should work for the people, not for business and assuch should be run for people rather than as a business and should ensure Treaty obligations are understood and actioned.

We support Wellington City being a Living Wage City where all staff and contractor employees are paid a living wage as a minimum.

When policies are developed their impact on children should be assessed.

1. No rent should put a tenant into hardship. Rents for Council housing should be income-related, the percentage of household income paid in rent should not exceed 25%.2. The Council must build more housing and be involved in providing housing and other related support in line with the need to meet a diverse range of adversity.3. There should be services such as clinics and community gardens close to living spaces.4. The Council should regulate to ensure that all housing has good heating and insulation, and is of a good liveable standard.

Water

1. Maintain the mauri of all water bodies by resourcing local communities to monitor their own waterways.2. Ensure all New Zealanders have access to potable water.3. Water for domestic use should be paid for from Council funds. Water supplies will be retained as a public good, managed locally and not onsold as assets to corporations. There should be no charge to domestic users of water for the amount they use and no water meters for this purpose. There should be no uniform annual charge for water or sewerage.4. Water and water assets should be owned and managed directly by publicly-elected bodies, not by arms-length organisations and companies.5. MANA supports water collection on every property and the reuse of grey water, and subsidies to assist this.6. All wastewater is to be treated to food gathering standard and then discharged through land (unless the soil is unsuitable), rather than directly into streams rivers or the sea. Stormwater outlets adjacent to sealed roads will have silt traps to filter runoff.7. Encourage riparian planting along all waterways.8. City and Regional Councils should put more resources into alternative sources of supply and fixing leaks.9. To support this Councils should have green plumbers, who will replace tap washers, fix leaks etc.

People’s Democracy & Local Body Reorganisation

1. Local government in Wellington should work through a system of participatorydemocracy whereby all people can participate in decision making through neighbourhood councils which would then feed decisions to community, area and regional bodies.

2.The provision of regional and local public services should be managed directly bypublicly-elected bodies and not handed over to council-controlled organisations.

3. There should be designated Maori seats on all local authorities.

Managing Public Assets and Services

Regional and local public services should be managed and provided directly by publicly-elected bodies, not by council-controlled organisations or contractors.

Parking meters should come under direct control of the City Council.

Finance

1. Rates on commercial properties should be higher than rates on residential property.

2. When a Council needs to borrow money it should borrow from Government orco-operatively-owned banks.

Transport

MANA supports improved public transport. In particular:

1.The Regional Council should campaign for more funding from central government for public transport.3. Bus fares should be frozen.4. Off-peak fares should be free for gold and community services cardholders and goldcard should apply all day.5. Public transport should be free to all children (definition of child 17 years and under).6. Frequency of services should be increased and there should be more useof trolleybuses.7. Public transport operations should be under direct control of Regional Council.

MANA opposes the proposed flyover next to the Basin Reserve.

Manners Mall should be reinstated

For better safety and to encourage walking and cycling, there should be better separation between pedestrians, cycling and motorised transport.

Community Facilities

More resources need to go into making suburbs pleasant places to live, including community centres in smaller suburbs.

More basic health facilities such as drinking fountains, public toilets and rubbish bins.

We oppose increases in library charges without loss of service.

More support and proper funding for community centres.

Liquor and Gambling

We support the reduction in the number of gambling venues and liqour outlets, and we support measures for greater regulation of these two industries by providing for a community veto on pokie venues, liquor outlets and fast food companies in local neighbourhoods.

The local Council should support organisations which are helping with addiction issues.

Environment

MANA believes that Councils should give hapū and iwi decision-making status equal to Councils in developing environmental policies relating to biodiversity, prospecting, the management of coastal areas and RMA plans so they can exercise kaitiakitanga over lands, coastal areas and waterways.

Action Section 33 of the RMA which allows local authorities to hand over functions, powers and duties to iwi.MANA opposes fracking and deep-sea oil drilling. We believe that Wellington should declare itself to be a frack-free and oil-drilling free zone.

Councils should plan to move away from the use of fossil fuels and support theuse of clean, renewable energy resources.

Food Sovereignty

Ban the growing and experimentation of GE and GM crops. Support the development of alternative food production, ownership and distribution methods to enable New Zealanders independence from international food companies and local supermarket chains.

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Every Aucklander knows we have a housing crisis but just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse comes the news that the average Auckland house price rose by 13.1% to $652,129 in the 12 months to August this year.

This is a now a tragedy for families and the Auckland Council’s Unitary Plan the Mayor Len Brown wants to push through at an extraordinary council meeting today will do nothing to ease the problem.

Auckland families want affordable homes to buy and affordable homes to rent but neither is possible anywhere in Auckland today.

And the Mayor’s housing accord with the government will not address this crisis either because the 39,000 homes they intend to build in the next three years will be unaffordable for the big majority of Aucklanders.

The Council must directly intervene in the market on behalf of families.

Minto for Mayor would build 20,000 affordable council rental homes to address the sharpest point in the crisis with other plans to promote home ownership opportunities for every New Zealand family.

Without intervention in the market Auckland will become the world’s most liveable city – but only for wealthy landlords and property investors.

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

“Once again the government has failed to protect the things that New Zealand parents and kids value” said Hone Harawira, MANA leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau, about the closure of the state-owned company Learning Media who have produced te reo Maori and English learning resources for New Zealand schools for decades.

“And because of that failure there’s uncertainty about if and how these important resources will be provided in the long term – and there’s also uncertainty for the hundred plus employees who now no longer have a job.

“If running our state-owned companies on big business lines leads to their collapse, even when they continue to increase their total revenue, change is needed. Here’s another example that shows the privatisation agenda of increased competition and cost-cutting doesn’t make for sustainable businesses – nor communities nor families for that matter too.

“The government will bail out failed finance companies and give hand-outs to foreign corporates like mining giant Rio Tinto but they haven’t stepped in to protect our state company that produces resources to help kids learn to love reading. It gives a very clear picture of their priorities.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

“Once again the government has failed to protect the things that New Zealand parents and kids value” said Hone Harawira, MANA leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau, about the closure of the state-owned company Learning Media who have produced te reo Maori and English learning resources for New Zealand schools for decades.

“And because of that failure there’s uncertainty about if and how these important resources will be provided in the long term – and there’s also uncertainty for the hundred plus employees who now no longer have a job.

“If running our state-owned companies on big business lines leads to their collapse, even when they continue to increase their total revenue, change is needed. Here’s another example that shows the privatisation agenda of increased competition and cost-cutting doesn’t make for sustainable businesses – nor communities nor families for that matter too.

“The government will bail out failed finance companies and give hand-outs to foreign corporates like mining giant Rio Tinto but they haven’t stepped in to protect our state company that produces resources to help kids learn to love reading. It gives a very clear picture of their priorities.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

NZ Bus, which has the contract to provide “public transport” bus services in the Wellington region, deserves to lose its contract with the Regional Council “if it doesn’t pull its socks up immediately”, says the Mana Party candidate for Wellington Regional Council, Ariana Paretutanganui-Tamati.

As reported by Scoop, a joint Transport Agency/Police operation in Wellington this week ”pink-stickered” 28 buses and removed them from service for significant fluid-leak faults. ”Senior Sergeant Willie Roy, of Police CVIU, said the common theme among all 28 of the vehicles ordered off the road was serious oil leaks – an obvious fire hazard. Other significant faults detected on a number of buses included insecure fuel tanks and battery boxes, as well as faulty lighting. Vehicles that receive pink stickers must immediately be removed from service.” reported Scoop.

Mana Party policy, in any event, is to push for a law change, says Ms Paretutanganui-Tamati, so that Regional Councils are allowed to bring the operation of public transport under their direct control and ownership. The Regional Council, as a publicly elected body should do exactly this, she says, but at present it is prohibited from doing so by law. But doing so would also enable the Council to ensure that bus drivers, along with all other Council staff, would be paid a “living wage”, which is also a central plank of Mana policy, she adds.

She also points out that bus-drivers for NZ Bus are paid very little more than the minimum wage for working long shifts that usually include several hours of non-paid down-time during off-peak hours, which may explain why some bus-drivers often seem quite grouchy. “It was been a persistent theme in the (still quite recent) spate of buses running over pedestrians in Wellington, that the drivers were keeping to tight time schedules even when driving through Wellington’s narrow streets. Mana Party policy is always to give People priority over commercial interests, says Ms Paretutanga-Tamati, and these sorts of problems with public transport being run by private commercial interests are an example of why direct control of it should be returned to democratically responsible bodies such as the Council.

Ms Paretutangaui-Tamati is standing for Regional Council on a platform including No user-charges for household water, Grass-roots democracy not super-city, No drilling off our coasts, Renewable energy, and Making Wellington a living-wage region.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

NZ Bus, which has the contract to provide “public transport” bus services in the Wellington region, deserves to lose its contract with the Regional Council “if it doesn’t pull its socks up immediately”, says the Mana Party candidate for Wellington Regional Council, Ariana Paretutanganui-Tamati.

As reported by Scoop, a joint Transport Agency/Police operation in Wellington this week ”pink-stickered” 28 buses and removed them from service for significant fluid-leak faults. ”Senior Sergeant Willie Roy, of Police CVIU, said the common theme among all 28 of the vehicles ordered off the road was serious oil leaks – an obvious fire hazard. Other significant faults detected on a number of buses included insecure fuel tanks and battery boxes, as well as faulty lighting. Vehicles that receive pink stickers must immediately be removed from service.” reported Scoop.

Mana Party policy, in any event, is to push for a law change, says Ms Paretutanganui-Tamati, so that Regional Councils are allowed to bring the operation of public transport under their direct control and ownership. The Regional Council, as a publicly elected body should do exactly this, she says, but at present it is prohibited from doing so by law. But doing so would also enable the Council to ensure that bus drivers, along with all other Council staff, would be paid a “living wage”, which is also a central plank of Mana policy, she adds.

She also points out that bus-drivers for NZ Bus are paid very little more than the minimum wage for working long shifts that usually include several hours of non-paid down-time during off-peak hours, which may explain why some bus-drivers often seem quite grouchy. “It was been a persistent theme in the (still quite recent) spate of buses running over pedestrians in Wellington, that the drivers were keeping to tight time schedules even when driving through Wellington’s narrow streets. Mana Party policy is always to give People priority over commercial interests, says Ms Paretutanga-Tamati, and these sorts of problems with public transport being run by private commercial interests are an example of why direct control of it should be returned to democratically responsible bodies such as the Council.

Ms Paretutangaui-Tamati is standing for Regional Council on a platform including No user-charges for household water, Grass-roots democracy not super-city, No drilling off our coasts, Renewable energy, and Making Wellington a living-wage region.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

“The New Zealand Maori Council continues to be a thorn in the side of the government,” said MANA Leader and MP for Tai Tokerau Hone Harawira, “so John Key has got the Minister of Maori Affairs to do a review the role of the Council with a view to killing it off once and for all.”

The government is currently reviewing the Maori Community Development Act 1962, the Act that established the New Zealand Maori Council to advocate for Maori.

“I think the problem for the government is that the Council has taken its role more seriously than was originally intended. The Council has taken a number of actions against the government in defence of Maori rights and has won major court decisions on critical issues such as land, forests, fisheries, te reo Maori, broadcasting, and the Maori electoral option.

“And as if that wasn’t enough, the Council has even more actions pending against the Crown on issues including water, spectrum, and the Maori Wardens.

“The government would dearly love to see the Council disestablished to stop them attacking the Crown – and this review of the Act is part of their strategy to achieve this.

“I’m not the greatest fan of the Council” said Harawira. “They could’ve taken a stronger line on taking control of the assets rather than simply accepting cash and quota. But the Council is the only entity with the capability and the firepower to challenge the Crown on major issues when others either wouldn’t or couldn’t.

“They definitely have a role to play in today’s world, so I’m encouraging everyone I know to go to the consultation hui to express their opposition to silencing the voice of the Council.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND HUI DATES:

Consultation on the review of theMAORI COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT

The government is reviewing the Maori Community Development Act, under which the New Zealand Maori Council was established. The review includes a national round of consultation. The Council is concerned about the review and wants Maori to know why.

WHO IS THE NEW ZEALAND MAORI COUNCIL?

The New Zealand Maori Council was set up under the Maori Community Development Act in 1962. The Council’s role is to advocate for Maori at a national level and to provide services that meet the needs of Maori communities.

WHAT HAS THE COUNCIL ACHIEVED?

The Council has been advocating for and protecting Maori interests and rights under the Treaty of Waitangi for the past 50 years.

Language

In 1985 the Council took a claim to the Waitangi Tribunal which asserted that Te Reo Maori was a taonga that the Crown was obliged to protect. The Tribunal found in favour of the Council and recommended a number of legislative and policy remedies.

In 1987 Māori was made an official language of New Zealand under the Māori Language Act.

Land

In 1987 the Council went to court to stop government from transferring assets, given by Maori for use by the government, to State Owned Enterprises.

Through the Waitangi Tribunal, the Council was then able to get government to stop the sale of those assets, and to set up land banks to hold those assets for return to iwi.

Fisheries

In 1987 the Council, along with Ngai Tahu, Muriwhenua and Tainui won a court action stopping the allocation of fishing quota until Māori commercial fishing rights had been clarified.

By 1992, the Crown and Maori had reached a full and final settlement.

Forestry

In 1989 Council took the government to court to stop the sale of state forests.

From that the Council negotiated the set-up of the Crown Forestry Rental Trust through which $160 million has been transferred to claimants (a further $385 million is held in securities).

Broadcasting

In 1993, as the direct result of legal action taken by the Council over the government’s allocation of radio frequencies, Council was able to negotiate the establishment of Te Mangai Paho to fund Maori language programming.

Today there are 21 Maori radio stations spread throughout the country. The Council also forced the Crown to honour its promise to set up Maori Television. Over the past 11 years, almost $500 million has been invested in Maori broadcasting through Te Mangai Paho.

Maori Electoral Option

Council took the Crown to the Tribunal for not upholding Maori citizenship rights under the Electoral Act 1991.

As a result funds were made available for Maori organisations to enrol Maori and let them know that the electoral option was on. The number of Maori sets increased from 4 to 7.

WHY IS COUNCIL CONCERNED ABOUT THE REVIEW?

The Council is seriously concerned about the review for three main reasons:

1. Council has been excluded from full participation in the terms of the review.

2. The review is taking place at a time when Council is challenging the Crown on a number of issues vital to Maori rights and interests (see below).

3. Government wants to use the review to stop the Council taking court action against it.

WHAT MAORI INTERESTS ARE AT RISK?

Water

Council is fighting for the recognition of Maori rights in water. In the first stage of the claim, the Waitangi Tribunal agreed with Council. When the Crown said it would ignore the findings, Council took the case all the way to the Supreme Court who ruled that the Crown was allowed to sell shares in Mighty River Power, but that Maori claims to freshwater had to be addressed.

Those claims have not been addressed. Council is currently engaged in Stage Two of the Tribunal hearings.

Radio Spectrum

Council wants the Crown to accept Tribunal findings that Maori have rights in the spectrum. The Crown has offered Maori $30 million for a resource estimated to be worth $4 billion.

Council rejects this and has returned to the Tribunal.

Crown Forestry Rental Trust

The CFRT Trust Deed says clearly that all CFRT funds are to be used for claimants, by claimants, and in ways determined by claimants. This is no longer the case. Funds are now being used in ways that are contrary to the Deed.

Council is seeking clarification to ensure Maori rights are not being ignored.

Maori Electoral Option

This year, Enrolment Services was awarded the contract to enrol Maori voters. The result is a significant drop in the number of Maori enrolments compared to 2001 and 2006 when enrolments were done by Maori organisations.

Council is preparing to take the Crown back to the Tribunal to review the way the Maori Electoral Option has been run this year.

Wardens

Maori Wardens are the face of Maori community policing, and operate under the mandate of the Council. The Crown has intervened in the Councils ability to administer the Wardens, weakening both the Council’s mandate and the Warden’s structure.

Council is seeking clarification from the courts on whether the Crown is acting unlawfully in withholding resources set aside for the Wardens.

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

“Not only is the government giving overseas oils giants an open invite to drill and mine our seas, they now want the deals kept secret from the public” says Hone Harawira, MANA leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau.

The government has tabled a proposal to enable oil and gas exploration applications to go through the Environmental Protection Agency as “non-notified” which would mean that the public isn’t notified and isn’t able to get to have a say.

“The government knows that most New Zealanders don’t want oil drilling – and this is their latest trick to try to keep us in the dark.

“We have to fight this; we have to be able to know what’s being planned in our waters.

“They’ve already banned us from being able to protest against oil drilling out at sea by turning it into a criminal act, and now they want to stop us from being able to question the paperwork that signs it off as well. Democracy? It sounds more and more like a dirty dictatorship to me.

“John Key is determined to not only bludgeon the poor, but also our seas, our fish, our beaches to keep his filthy rich mates on top – the very same mates that fund the National Party to keep them in power.

“Each of us needs to ask, where’s it all going to stop?

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

]]>

https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/09/02/publics-right-to-stop-oil-drilling-must-be-protected/feed/1Living wage will improve Current Account deficithttps://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/09/02/living-wage-will-improve-current-account-deficit/
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/09/02/living-wage-will-improve-current-account-deficit/#commentsMon, 02 Sep 2013 02:55:43 +0000http://thedailyblog.co.nz/?p=29728New Zealand’s current account deficit will be significantly reduced if the Living Wage ($18.40 per hour) is paid to New Zealand workers.

The companies paying close to the minimum wage are large corporations like Skycity Casino and McDonalds. Low wages are the main reason for their large profits which find their way overseas.

The living wage would keep much more of that money in New Zealand and reduce our current account deficit.

Instead of subsidising low wages with Working for Families workers should be paid decent wages directly by these corporations.

Over the past 20 years workers have lost out to shareholders as New Zealand workers’ share of GDP (Gross Domestic Profit) dropped from 56% to around 45%. This loss for workers has been taken in corporate profits and since 1984 our current account deficit has ballooned as more of these profits move overseas.

As foreign corporations take over an ever larger share of the New Zealand economy the problem is exacerbated.

Under Minto for Mayor all Auckland Council employees and employees of council contractors would be paid a minimum of the living wage ($18.40 per hour) which would be funded by cuts to the salaries of the mayor, CEOs and senior managers at the Council and Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs).

Minto for Mayor would set a maximum salary of five times the living wage ($191,360) for council staff with the Mayor paid four times the living wage ($153,088) compared to $240,000 now.

“No I don’t feel reassured,” said Hone Harawira, Leader of MANA and MP for Te Tai Tokerau, following Minister Finlayson’s claim that Mr Harawira and fellow protestors and rights campaigners would not be targeted by the GCSB in light of its newly expanded powers to legally spy on New Zealand citizens.

In Parliament yesterday, Mr Harawira asked a series of questions concerning GCSB surveillance of New Zealand citizens – including those Iwi who, with the New Zealand Maori Council, are challenging the government’s right to sell water-based power companies given they have not yet properly recognised or settled Maori proprietary interests in fresh water.

“I don’t feel reassured because the government is still refusing to say who the 88 New Zealanders are it’s already spied on – and they never will. How can anyone be reassured by statements from a government who has lied about illegal spying again and again, and again some more?

“They don’t want us to know because it will give the public a very clear idea of who’s in the net already, and who’s likely to come next. And I bet it’s way more than 88 too. Kim Dotcom reckons it’s 1000s.

“I also don’t buy that refusing to do so is in the ‘public’s best interest’. Given that most New Zealanders have opposed the GCSB Bill, it would be fully in their interests to know who’s on the hit list so far and who’s not.

“The government is saying the GCSB will now be a more transparent spy operation – but the answers to my questions yesterday prove that, once again, it’s the usual pack of lies.

ENDS

For further information please contact Jevan Goulter, (022) 088-5646

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

“MANA will push to repeal the GCSB Bill when there’s a change in government” said Hone Harawira, Leader of the MANA Movement and MP for Te Tai Tokerau following the passing into law of the GCSB bill this afternoon. “The police and the SIS already have the ability to spy on New Zealanders. We don’t need another one, especially one paid for and answerable to an overseas government.”

“Thanks to UK whistleblower Katharine Gun, we now know that while NZ was opposing the invasion of Iraq, the US was directing its international spy network, including the GCSB, to spy on members of the UN Security Council in an attempt to pressure them into supporting a US resolution to invade.

“And now the powers of the GCSB are being widened even further to suit the goals of the US, even when those goals are in direct opposition to the policies of the NZ government.

“We stand alongside the huge majority of New Zealanders who oppose this bill not because we have anything to fear, but because we value the rights and freedoms that our fathers, uncles and brothers have fought and died for.

“New Zealanders should have the right to challenge their government or to oppose corporate mismanagement, without ending up on an American terrorist watch-list and having the contents of their emails and phone calls sold to international spy networks.

“New Zealanders don’t accept the Prime Ministers assurances that the new powers of the GCSB won’t be abused, and neither should we have to accept legislation that further erodes our independence and our sovereignty.,

“MANA supports the repeal of the bill and calls for New Zealand to withdraw from the FIVE EYES international spy network run by the US.

“We have far more important issues to be spending our time and money on, like feeding the kids, creating jobs, and building homes for New Zealand citizens.

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

“MANA will push to repeal the GCSB Bill when there’s a change in government” said Hone Harawira, Leader of the MANA Movement and MP for Te Tai Tokerau following the passing into law of the GCSB bill this afternoon. “The police and the SIS already have the ability to spy on New Zealanders. We don’t need another one, especially one paid for and answerable to an overseas government.”

“Thanks to UK whistleblower Katharine Gun, we now know that while NZ was opposing the invasion of Iraq, the US was directing its international spy network, including the GCSB, to spy on members of the UN Security Council in an attempt to pressure them into supporting a US resolution to invade.

“And now the powers of the GCSB are being widened even further to suit the goals of the US, even when those goals are in direct opposition to the policies of the NZ government.

“We stand alongside the huge majority of New Zealanders who oppose this bill not because we have anything to fear, but because we value the rights and freedoms that our fathers, uncles and brothers have fought and died for.

“New Zealanders should have the right to challenge their government or to oppose corporate mismanagement, without ending up on an American terrorist watch-list and having the contents of their emails and phone calls sold to international spy networks.

“New Zealanders don’t accept the Prime Ministers assurances that the new powers of the GCSB won’t be abused, and neither should we have to accept legislation that further erodes our independence and our sovereignty.,

“MANA supports the repeal of the bill and calls for New Zealand to withdraw from the FIVE EYES international spy network run by the US.

“We have far more important issues to be spending our time and money on, like feeding the kids, creating jobs, and building homes for New Zealand citizens.

ENDS

For further information please contact Jevan Goulter, (022) 088-5646

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

]]>

Mayoral candidates square off across the picket linehttps://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/08/15/mayoral-candidates-square-off-across-the-picket-line/
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/08/15/mayoral-candidates-square-off-across-the-picket-line/#commentsThu, 15 Aug 2013 00:51:03 +0000http://thedailyblog.co.nz/?p=27390Mayoral candidates to square off across the picket line

Mayoral challenger John Minto will this morning square off against incumbent Mayor Len Brown across a picket line in Glen Innes.

The Mayor is scheduled to take part in the “turning of the sod” as the foundation of the first homes are dug to replace the state homes trucked out of Glen Innes.

It’s the sordid deal between Len Brown and the government to ethnically and socially cleanse Glen Innes on behalf of salivating property developers and wealthy home buyers.

The Mayor likes to tout himself as onside with “his” Maori and Pacific Island families but he’s helping drive these families from their homes in Glen Innes to create a seaside suburb for the wealthy.

It turns out “his” people are really the right-wing politicians and greedy developers who are trashing Maori and Pacific families.

Families who have lived in their homes for decades are being turned out and will eventually be housed in Len Brown’s high-rise slums down the road.

In the first stage of this “redevelopment” 156 state houses are to be replaced by just 78. Housing just got less affordable in Auckland.

In contrast to Len Brown’s “wealthy-first” housing policy Minto for Mayor’s housing policy will:
· Have the building of 20,000 affordable council rental homes underway in the next term of council.

· Require property speculators and property developers to pay the increase in value on land when council zoning changes inflate the land value. (“betterment” charges) This will provide hundreds of millions to be invested in additional affordable, high quality council rental properties

· Establish a “Charter of Rights” for Aucklanders in rental accommodation

· Pressure the government to allow Auckland City to impose rent controls till Auckland’s housing affordability crisis is over

· Require all new developments of more than 10 homes to have a minimum of 50% of affordable homes

More details at www.mintoformayor.org.nz

The first sod will be turned at the Corner of Eastview Road and Castledine Crescent in Glen Innes at 10am.

John Minto
Mana’s Mayoral candidate

PS:
Two days ago Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson said the government would increase compensation payments to private home owners where the government confiscated their land for major infrastructure projects such as roads. Williamson said families could be paid up to $50,000 (up from $2000 previously) to compensate for the major upheaval in their lives when they had lived often for decades in the same home in the same area. He talked about families changing suburbs, kids changing schools and the disruption to long-term relationships with friends and neighbours.

Fair enough. But what do state tenants get when they are booted out of homes they have lived in for decades? A free skip bin for the rubbish and a truck ride out.

Mayoral challenger John Minto will this morning square off against incumbent Mayor Len Brown across a picket line in Glen Innes.

The Mayor is scheduled to take part in the “turning of the sod” as the foundation of the first homes are dug to replace the state homes trucked out of Glen Innes.

It’s the sordid deal between Len Brown and the government to ethnically and socially cleanse Glen Innes on behalf of salivating property developers and wealthy home buyers.

The Mayor likes to tout himself as onside with “his” Maori and Pacific Island families but he’s helping drive these families from their homes in Glen Innes to create a seaside suburb for the wealthy.

It turns out “his” people are really the right-wing politicians and greedy developers who are trashing Maori and Pacific families.

Families who have lived in their homes for decades are being turned out and will eventually be housed in Len Brown’s high-rise slums down the road.

In the first stage of this “redevelopment” 156 state houses are to be replaced by just 78. Housing just got less affordable in Auckland.

In contrast to Len Brown’s “wealthy-first” housing policy Minto for Mayor’s housing policy will:· Have the building of 20,000 affordable council rental homes underway in the next term of council.· Require property speculators and property developers to pay the increase in value on land when council zoning changes inflate the land value. (“betterment” charges) This will provide hundreds of millions to be invested in additional affordable, high quality council rental properties· Establish a “Charter of Rights” for Aucklanders in rental accommodation· Pressure the government to allow Auckland City to impose rent controls till Auckland’s housing affordability crisis is over· Require all new developments of more than 10 homes to have a minimum of 50% of affordable homes

More details at www.mintoformayor.org.nz

The first sod will be turned at the Corner of Eastview Road and Castledine Crescent in Glen Innes at 10am.

PS: Two days ago Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson said the government would increase compensation payments to private home owners where the government confiscated their land for major infrastructure projects such as roads. Williamson said families could be paid up to $50,000 (up from $2000 previously) to compensate for the major upheaval in their lives when they had lived often for decades in the same home in the same area. He talked about families changing suburbs, kids changing schools and the disruption to long-term relationships with friends and neighbours.

Fair enough. But what do state tenants get when they are booted out of homes they have lived in for decades? A free skip bin for the rubbish and a truck ride out.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

“Absolutely we need to be doing all we can to keep our children safe from abuse and neglect”, says Hone Harawira, Leader of MANA and MP for Te Tai Tokerau. “But I want the government put on notice to stop their abuse and neglect of kids and whānau too”.

“All the evidence tells us that for kids to grow up safe and well they need a decent house, whānau with a decent income and a job, and a decent doctor they can go to for free. And yet this government is more than happy to go in the complete opposite direction – doing all they can to kick whānau out of state housing onto the street, kick people off benefits into non-existent jobs, and set up doctors as new extended WINZ offices to continue the harassment.

“Getting tough on families without providing them with the means and capability of being a good parent is abuse in my books: you’re setting them up to fail, and then waiting to clobber them when they do.

“Investing in our kids, and in those families who are struggling, has already been proven around the world as the way to go to improve child safety, health and wellbeing, and to give them the best of chance of making something of themselves. Any government who chooses to ignore this fact chooses to be a perpetrator alongside abusive individuals who harm, kill, and damage children.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Living wage for all workers doing council work to be funded by heavy cuts to council management salaries

Over the past 20 years wages for council employees have decreased by at least 20% in real terms while salaries of senior council managers have skyrocketed.

As with other sections of the public service, private sector values of greed and salary-ratcheting at senior management level have permeated the council to the detriment of employees who do the actual work that keeps the city moving.

Minto for Mayor’s will deal with this in a cost-neutral way whereby –

All Auckland Council employees and employees of council contractors would be paid a minimum of the living wage ($18.40 per hour) which would be funded by cuts to salaries of the mayor, CEOs and senior managers at the Council and Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs)

The Mayor’s salary would be set at four times the living wage and the Auckland City CEO’s salary to five times the living wage.

It will be a condition of all contracts where people are employed to do council work that casual and part-time employees will have their hours made up to 40 hours per week before new employees are taken on – a “security of hours” provision.

We will investigate ways of ensuring that council consents which apply to large corporations are issued conditional on the living wage and “security of hours” provisions applying to its employees.

Where Auckland Council employees are paid less than the living wage their pay and security of hours would be adjusted immediately. Where the council retains contractors to do council work it will be a condition of every contract that the contractor pays employees at least the living wage and applies the “security of hours” provision above.

The several million dollars needed for this policy will be found from heavy cuts to the salaries of the Mayor and senior council management staff.

The policy will see the Mayor’s salary cut from $240,000 to $153,088 while the CEO’s salary would be reduced from $768,759 to $191,360

The CEO salary would set the benchmark for other council salaries.

Currently there are123 senior management staff of council and council-controlled organisations who are paid more than $200,000 each. This is offensive when families are struggling across the city on low wages and no guaranteed hours of work.

These management salaries will be reduced through a restructuring of senior management positions.

It’s also disgraceful in Auckland that corporations like the Skycity casino continue to pay many staff a fraction above the minimum wage while they rake in massive profits from an exclusive gambling monopoly. Similarly corporations such as McDonald’s thrive on low-paid, insecure work for their employees.

When these corporations need to apply for council consents it is Minto for Mayor’s intention that the council set minimum standards of employment as a precondition for any consent.

With this policy the council will provide strong leadership to Auckland businesses to adopt the living wage and “security of hours” as part of their minimum employment standards. The council would publicly applaud companies which adopt these standards.

The council would also be providing leadership to oppose the corporate culture of greed which has meant unjustifiable, exponential salary increases for senior managers in the private sector while wages for employees are screwed down to the minimum.

Headline: MANA calls for New Zealand to withdraw from “five-eyes” spy network

Hone Harawira:
“MANA is calling for New Zealand to withdraw from the so-called “five eyes” international spy network because it compromises our independence and integrity”, says Hone Harawira, Leader of MANA and MP for Te Tai Tokerau.

New Zealand joined the “five eyes” network after the Second World War when the government of the day signed the secret UKUSA agreement along with the UK, USA, Canada and Australia.

“It’s been clear from the 1980s that this network and the New Zealand component – the GCSB (Government Communications Security Bureau) – are working in the interests of the US rather than our own people.

“It’s clear from both independent research and “whistleblowing”, the latest of which has been done by former US analyst Edward Snowden. We can’t be an honest broker internationally if we’re hitched to US foreign policy through the five-eyes network.

“US interests and interference was also clear in January 2003 when an email from the US National Security Agency was leaked by UK whistleblower Katharine Gun. The email requested the five eyes to spy on members of the UN security council – and on Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Bulgaria, and Guinea in particular – in an attempt to get leverage to pressure those countries to support a UN Security Council resolution to invade Iraq.

“While the New Zealand government was opposing the invasion, the five eyes network was working to support it.

“Now New Zealand wants a seat of the UN Security Council and our case will inevitably be tainted by our association with US foreign policy strategies operating through the GCSB.

“In recent years the National government has pushed New Zealand further into the US corner and further from the independence which would give us greater assurance and credibility in the world.

“At home we already have the SIS (Security Intelligence Service) and the Police with the power to spy on New Zealanders. We don’t need another agency to reduce our privacy further on behalf of US interests.

“It’s time we left the five-eyes and took our international responsibilities seriously as well as making a greater commitment to the privacy of New Zealanders” concluded Mr Harawira.

For further information please contact Jevan Goulter (022) 088-5646

—

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

Mana’s candidate for Auckland Mayor John Minto will launch the movement’s affordable housing policy tomorrow morning, Tuesday 23rd July, at 9am on the steps of the Auckland District Court in Albert Street.

The venue has been chosen because Mana Movement MP Hone Harawira will be appearing in court tomorrow morning on a charge related to the removal of state housing from Glen Innes.

Hone’s court appearance defending state house tenants facing eviction and the destruction of their community matches Mana’s concern for Auckland families and the lack of affordable housing in the city – particularly affordable rental housing.

We have a big bold plan to address this spectacular and on-going market failure.

They are both bad options to deal with traffic gridlock and Auckland should reject them both.

Building more roads will NOT reduce traffic congestion. Nowhere in the world has any city been able to tarseal its way out of gridlock.

Mana is proposing an end traffic chaos in Auckland within 12 months at less than half the cost of Len Brown’s proposals. We will do this using free and frequent public transport to all parts of the city’s urban area.

Our proposal will release $1.25 billion per year in extra productivity wasted currently in traffic congestion as well as stimulating the economy with the money saved by people using free public transport.

Len Brown’s proposals on the other hand will condemn Aucklanders to traffic gridlock for the next 30 years while forcing us to pay $400 million per year extra for the privilege.

Other cities in the world are going down this path of free public transport – Chengdu in China and Tallinn in Estonia are a couple of examples amongst dozens of other cities with different versions of free public transport.

An international conference on free public transport is being held in Tallinn next month – Len Brown should go.

John Minto
Mana Movement candidate for Auckland Mayor

]]>https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/07/15/road-tolls-or-fuel-taxes-neither-says-minto-for-mayor/feed/1Minto for Mayor slams proposals for $12 billion burden on Aucklandershttps://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/07/15/minto-for-mayor-slams-proposals-for-12-billion-burden-on-aucklanders/
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/07/15/minto-for-mayor-slams-proposals-for-12-billion-burden-on-aucklanders/#commentsMon, 15 Jul 2013 01:15:29 +0000http://thedailyblog.co.nz/?p=22715Today’s announcement of proposals to raise another $400 million per year for 30 years ($12 billion in total) from Aucklanders to pay for huge roading projects is an outrage.

Early reports indicate that Mayor Len Brown’s “consensus building group” will today propose

rates increases

extra fuel taxes

congestion charges

motorway charges

toll roads.

This is typical of the dull 1950s thinking that roads, roads and more roads will stop congestion. (Two thirds of this extra money will be for proposed roading projects)

Nowhere in the world has any city been able to tarseal its way out of gridlock.

Minto for Mayor’s proposal is for an end to gridlocked Auckland roads within 12 months at less than half the cost of Len Brown’s proposals.

Minto for Mayor will give Aucklanders an extra hour a day at home with their families through a policy of free and frequent public transport across the city’s urban area.

Every Aucklander would have two great choices – either use free public transport to commute or drive their car on unclogged roads in rush hour. Instead the mayor is proposing two bad choices – expensive public transport on clogged roads or expensive use of private cars.

Len Brown’s will condemn Auckanders to traffic gridlock for the next 30 years while forcing them to pay far more for the privilege of gridlocked traffic.

“Unfortunately, my Feed the Kids “Education (Breakfast and Lunch Programmes in Schools) Amendment Bill” will not come up in Parliament tomorrow because of an urgent issue in the Tai Tokerau which I have been asked to attend to.

The Bill will now go to the bottom of the Order Paper and will come up again in due course.

“I’m actually pleased it’s worked out this way because the issue has become a political football and that’s not right; feeding our kids should be our first priority as a decent society.

“We will now re-group and work on building even greater support for when the Bill comes up again. I extend a huge thank you to everyone involved for their efforts up till now, and I will be calling a meeting in the next few weeks to plan the next phase of the campaign.

ENDS

Please contact Jevan Goulter (022) 088-5646 for further information.

This author has not entered his bio yet but feel free to check out other articles by him anyhow.

Did you enjoy this kōrero?

The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.